Love In The Bittersweet
by Fairylust
Summary: After barely escaping the hatered of her own mother Artemis finds her little sister missing, suspecting the fault is of the DWMA meisters. Ten years after beginning her search Artemis Nyx is ready to find her sister and kill anyone who stands in her way. The only question left is if she can escape the demons of her past or will she let them change her into what she had once feared?
1. A Dark & Tearful Imprisionment

**Title: Love in The Bittersweet**

**Genre: Family/Friendship**

**Rating: T**

**Author: FairyLust**

**Summary: After barely escaping the hatered of her own mother Artemis finds her little sister missing, suspecting the fault is of the DWMA meisters. Ten years after beginning her search Artemis Nyx is ready to find her sister and kill anyone who stands in her way. The only question left is if she can escape the demons of her past or will she let them take hold and change her into the monster she once feared?**

**Main Characters: Artemis & Crona**

**Original (NOT MINE) Characters: Maka, Crona, Soul, Kid, Stein, Black*Star, Tsubaki, Liz, Patty, Sid, etc.**

**My (MINE) Ocs: Artemis, Belladonna, Zephyr, Richie, Emiko, and Garnet (MAY possibly be more in the future)**

**Author Notes: This story is told mostly from an OC's point of veiw (POV) and may also contain violence, abuse, some language, and hints of indecency. Some parts are censored, though it's still kinda obvious what is being said. And finally, as I said in the beginning the story is mostly told from my OC's point of view (POV) EXCEPT for when my OC can't be in a room others are in but the story goes on in third person's POV. Now that that's all covered, onto the story!**

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I looked up at Lady Medusa with fear shining in my intense yellow eyes. I watched as her dark purple vector plate appeared beneath my younger sister's feet and then threw her into a room that appeared utterly dark on the inside, save for the light that filled the room through the doorway. I knew I had to stay perfectly still and pay close attention to what Lady Medusa had to say to me or else I would have the same fate.

I couldn't defy her in any way or even make her think I was ready to disobey her or else she would punish me too. It seemed to be her biggest job as far as me and my sister was concerned. She was our mother after all.

Besides that I really didn't want to go in the dark room along with my sister. I watched the door to the room close quietly after she scolded my little sister. She then turned around staring down at me coldly. There was no compassion in her eyes, just a chilling emptiness and vague sense of boredom.

"Artemis, you _will_ be obedient won't you?" Lady Medusa demanded, as her vector arrows started to appear all around me, though I honestly knew it wasn't _really _a question. It was just phrased as one, but in reality it was more like a silent threat.

I shook where I stood and slowly nodded a 'yes' to hopefully appease her. "Good, then you will accompany me to Death City without question. All you need to know is that I want you to help me take care of some business I have to attend there. It's very important and should benefit your training. Besides, I would think it would be easy enough for you to assist me with such a trivial task."

"Yes, Lady Medusa, but..."

"_But_?" She sounded very displeased. I knew I had made a mistake in speaking up then.

"But what? I said, 'without question' Artemis."

"B-but...what about...?"

She knew my weaknesses. I shouldn't have spoken up at all. My mother knew me very well and I feared her as much as...well...more than I feared anything else to be perfectly honest. She and my sister and our home was all I ever really knew. Lady Medusa was the person who always took care of me, but she was also the only one to ever hurt me.

She'd broken my heart and terrified me more than she had ever cared for me in my short six years of life. I supposed her frightening me and my sister was just her way of punishing us, which it was, but then I also figured her doing nice things for us (providing clean clothes, giving us food, letting us have bandages for cuts and scrapes, etc.) was her way of either caring for, or praising us. At any rate, Lady Medusa knew how much I cared for my little sister and she had no problem exploiting that.

"If you don't do _exactly _as you're told, then I will kill her, understand?"

"Y-yes, Lady Medusa." I sputtered. "I-I understand p-perfectly."

"Good."

She turned to leave but I was very concerned for my sister. Wouldn't she die if left alone in that room? She was frail and if left there without supervision would surely become ill, at the very least. "What about Crona?" I just blurted out.

"We can't just leave her locked up in there. Sh-she could die!" Lady Medusa froze where she was and I knew that I had made another mistake. She didn't even give me a glance over her shoulder when I gave a horrified whimper upon seeing a vector plate appear underneath my feet and pushed me backwards into the dark room where I fell onto my younger sibling who was quietly crying.

"You will stay in there with Crona for the next few days without food or water." Lady Medusa announced in a cold, apathetic voice. "When I come back you _both _better be prepared to do as I say without _any _defiance." She then closed the door making the room pitch black and it was only then I realized the air was colder than our mother's words had been.

I moved away from Crona and looked at her scrawny form in the darkness. She was a really frail, small little kid with choppy pink hair and dark colored eyes. It seemed kind of strange to me because I looked nothing like her and she looked nothing like me.

Whoever her, maybe _our_, father was she must have taken everything from him, including her powers and abilities, save for the ones literally given to her by our mother. Actually, I was told that I took more after an aunt. I supposed Lady Medusa despised me for that. I was tall for my age, or I thought, and very thin with pale porcelain skin and short black hair that seemed to be naturally spiked in the back.

I wanted to grow my hair longer some day in the future if it were possible; maybe if Lady Medusa stopped making me cut it. The only physical trait that I really shared with Lady Medusa was my eyes. I had her sly yellow eyes, other than that I shared her dislike of footwear, seeing as I never really cared much for shoes, or even socks. I liked keeping my feet bare.

"Oh, come on, Crona, do you always have to be such a wimp!" Ragnarok suddenly yelled, after he popped out of Crona's back, and then he started to hit her over and over with his white circular fists. I scooted away from Crona so that Ragnarok wouldn't try to hit me too, but I didn't like the sounds of fear and pain Crona made. "You are the most worthless idiot I ever met!" I heard the little demon shout. "Can't you do anything right?"

"Leave her alone." I said quietly, feeling somewhat frightened of how he would react.

"Shut up you stupid, pathetic, worthless excuse for a witch!" He yelled back at me after a short moment of silence. "Crona is _my _body and if I want to pull _my _body's ears then I will!"

"Ow! Ragnarok stop it that hurts!"

"No way!" the little demon snapped. "You're worse than that stupid, pathetic, worthless excuse for a witch. You're a reject and need to grow some guts so we stop getting locked up in this damned place! Or maybe you just need some sense pummeled into you!" He then gave her hair a hard yank, and then started assaulting her head with slaps and punches. "Don't be scared to kill something, because getting your hands a little bloody is way easier to deal with than slowly starving to death!"

"No, don't pull my hair like that!"

"Shut up, Crona!"

"No, my nose is bleeding, please stop!"

"Oh, I can't see but I know my nose is bleeding!" Ragnarok mocked, as he paused in beating up on my innocent, little sister. He then snapped, "I swear if you don't quit being such a wuss then I'll pull your dress up and over your head!"

"No! That'd be so mean!"

I vaguely heard the sound of material and saw Crona stumble around fighting with Ragnarok who was probably doing as he had threatened he would beforehand. After a moment or two of struggling Crona stopped and they flopped to the floor where Crona cowered from Ragnarok, who went back to trying to hit Crona in the face.

"Stop hitting me!"

Ragnarok ignored her and kept beating her up. I felt like I was about to suffocate. The panic I felt overwhelmed me and I just wanted everything to stop. I wanted to be let out of the dark and I wanted Lady Medusa to come back and I really, really, _really _wanted Ragnarok to stop tormenting Crona.

In the blink of an eye everything became too much and I snapped, setting my silent thoughts free.

"St-stop it...please...just stop it, Ragnarok, you jerk!"

There was silence. I only heard Crona's quiet sniffling and my own frightened noises. The almost peaceful silence didn't last for more than five minutes, and then Ragnarok started bullying Crona again. But it was worse than it had previously been because of what I had said and he couldn't reach me, so he made me pay by hurting Crona worse than before.

"No, please!"

"Shut up!"

"Hey, stop touching me!"

"I said 'shut up'!"

"You're not supposed to pinch me there! Ow!"

"You deserve this for getting us thrown in here so stop whining about it, you baby!"

"No, quit hitting me! Ragnarok!"

"Not until some more blood comes gushing out of your ugly nose! That'll teach you a lesson!"

"But I'm already bleeding! I don't know if I could deal with bleeding more."

He ignored her, but she didn't give up trying to make him stop. "I've already learned my lesson!" Crona shouted to Ragnarok, who mostly just ignored her and kept hitting her in the face despite her vain attempts to shield her face, plus the pleas for him to stop.

I tried to cover my ears and pretend like none of it was happening, but the cries still came to me and I heard them loud and clear, despite my attempts to block them out. I felt bad for ignoring Crona yet somehow I also didn't really care and that made me feel ten times as guilty.

"Artemis, please, make Ragnarok stop it! Please, make him stop hurting me! He's being mean and I don't like him being mean! Please!"

I started to cry harder as my sister's cries grew more desperate. But then suddenly, there was an eerie silence in the room. I uncovered my ears and listened carefully, tears still pouring down my face.


	2. A Punishment Within Darkness

**Okay, chapter two is up now, but i might not update again until Friday, perhaps Saturday seeing as I am getting buried under a pile of homework, besides I need to finish some other stories. At any rate plz enjoy and read the warnings below.**

**Warnings for THIS chappie: Violence, sadness, child abuse, and other bad stuff...don't say I didn't warn you.**

**~Fairylust~**

* * *

I didn't hear Crona much anymore, but I still heard Ragnarok punching her motionless body. It was then I finally got up to try to help only to get a hard punch in my left temple for it. I gave it a second try but I was hit again, but that time it was a direct hit to my jaw.

I didn't have much of a chance to try helping again because of how beaten Crona was and Ragnarok had then decided Crona had learned her lesson for the day and disappeared back into her body.

I inspected her the best I could in the dimness of the room and concluded there wasn't really too much damage. Ragnarok must have held back a lot because I knew he probably could have done much worse. She just had some blood drying around her nose and there was a small trickle from her lower lip. I supposed there wouldn't be too many bruises from his attack, but then again it was a little too dark for me to see clearly.

Crona lay unconscious for the next three hours. She came to with a quiet groan. I shushed her and told her everything would be all right even if I didn't honestly think things would be. Crona didn't seem to believe it either. I tried my best to keep her and Ragnarok entertained but my mind worked slower than usual so I had a hard time telling stories. We eventually figured out how to play a game that was rather short-lived because the activity made us tired and we decided to conserve whatever energy we had left in us for the next four days.

It wasn't much of a surprise the next few days weren't much better, actually we eventually lost all sense of time and just ended up laying around our dark prison cell, changing our positions every few hours or so, as we waited for the darkness to give way to light and our mother to appear to let us go because thirst and hunger were working together and had our minds set on pleasing our mother with whatever tasks she expected us to complete.

"Artemis, I'm hungry." Crona's low voice came to me at one point.

It'd been a long while since I had lost track of the time. I figured it would be best to ignore Crona for a little while so that neither of us would start to think too much about food because sometimes I secretly thought Lady Medusa planned on letting us die there or expected us to torment ourselves with thoughts of food.

Of course I didn't want to upset Crona or anger Ragnarok further so I always kept these thoughts to myself. "Are you dead?" I heard the dry whisper but still ignored it.

"Artemis?"

She sounded somewhat afraid.

"Artemis..."

I didn't want her to think I was really dead, seeing as Ragnarok might have influenced her to then cannibalize my body and that was the last thing I wanted at the moment.

"No." I finally replied. "I am just trying to sleep…"

I heard movement and then felt her leaning against my side. Her face was wet and I could tell she was crying really hard. "Don't be scared, Crona, Lady Medusa will come get us sooner or later." I said in a parched, whispery voice.

I then promised our safety and told my sister to have faith in our mother even though we both already knew Lady Medusa probably wasn't even thinking of giving us another chance any time soon. Nonetheless, Crona and I waited for her together. We didn't provide much comfort to each other, nor did we show any affection towards one another during our wait, all we really did was just sit together, talked a little bit, and waited for our mother to come for us, though we eventually changed our positions and separated from each other.

The day Lady Medusa finally came for us I was leaning against the back wall, while Crona lay facedown close to where the door was. The night before Ragnarok had kept us awake and had kept giving Crona noogies so she didn't really get much sleep and it shown through the light colored dark circles that appeared beneath her dark eyes. Lady Medusa's cold glare was unnerving but not as harsh as it could have been. She knew we were already broken down and that disobedience wasn't something either of us planned to show her for the time being.

"Crona," she said quietly, "are you ready to obey me?"

I watched as my little sister stood and nodded. Lady Medusa stared at her for the longest time before giving a curt shrug and stepping to the side, appearing indifferent. I only saw her back but I noticed how Crona's head hung down and her shoulders slumped as though she were carrying hundreds of pounds.

Crona was soon out of the room and standing beside Lady Medusa who barely acknowledged that she was there because she had turned back and was looking directly at me.

"Artemis," she said in an even tone, "have you learned your lesson as well?" She asked quietly probably expecting the same reply she received from Crona, but I wasn't sure what to say. My mind was still partially shutdown from the lack of food and water. It was hard for me to think clearly and I was feeling somewhat lightheaded as my eyes finally adjusted to the bright light that poured into the dark room.

"I-I..."

"Artemis." She said sternly, catching my attention instantly and it made me look up. She had a hand on top of Crona's head and I could see my sister's pallid face. "Do you and Crona need to spend more time alone together?"

"I-I don't...I-I..."

"Or perhaps you would like to see Crona punished further?"

"I-I...I don't want...I am so-sorry..."

"Sorry for what?"

No more words came to me. I just continued crying, shaking my head and not knowing what to say. I heard Lady Medusa sigh and looked up to see her staring down at Crona with narrowed eyes. Crona was staring at me but it felt more like she was staring through me. Her eyes held no light in them, dulled from the five days of starvation.

Her body was small and frail. I didn't want her to be punished further. I imagined Crona would hate me if I got her into trouble just because I couldn't produce any words that would please Lady Medusa. Then again, I was more afraid of Ragnarok than I was of my little sister. I noticed that Lady Medusa had lost all patience as she nudged Crona forwards a little so that she stood in the center of the doorway and was partially shadowed.

"Crona, it seems your sister needs more time to think things over. Let's help her make up her mind a little faster, okay?"

"Wh-what d-do you mean?"

"You read that book I gave you, right?"

Crona nodded a little. I knew which book she meant and I shuddered as I wondered just what she was planning to have Crona do to me. Then again, there is an old saying; Ask and you will receive, which was proven true after a moment of confused fear when Lady Medusa gave Crona her next command.

"Don't kill her, just hurt her until I tell you to stop."

My blood turned to ice and my heart throbbed with misery within my chest. How much pain would I feel? This was just something my mind automatically wondered. I tried to prepare myself for the pain that was sure to come at any second. I knew Crona was probably willing to do anything for Lady Medusa at the moment, including hurting me, because I knew that I sure felt ready to do as she said, but I just couldn't get any words out. All I could do was cry and sputter despite my best attempts to stop.

"B-but I don't want to hurt A-Artemis."

"I see, well then you can both spend three more days in there until you finally learn to obey."

My eyes widened then in surprise as all these words sank in. "Crona?" Her name escaped my lips in a small, stunned whisper while my face paled dramatically. "No!" I exclaimed suddenly, running for the door and managing to make it before Lady Medusa did anything. "No, no, no, please d-don't!"

I hugged her legs and broke down crying further, continuing to beg for her to not lock us away again but she just stood and scowled down at me. I was suddenly thrown backwards by a vector plate after a few minutes of me crying and begging like that. I landed with a loud cry and kept crying loudly as I tried to get up and run for the door, but was once more thrown back by a vector plate and I hit my head pretty hard on the back wall. Crona was the next to get thrown in, though when she landed she was utterly motionless and silent.

I became worried after a moment and went to see if she were okay. I guessed she was okay, but really weak from not eating or drinking anything in five days.

I felt almost certain three more days would kill her. I didn't know if Lady Medusa could hear us when we were locked in that room but I couldn't help myself from crying and pleading that she give us just a little water so we wouldn't die.

I was really scared, mostly because Crona was so silent and still, but also because I knew if she died then it would be my fault for angering Lady Medusa. And being her big sister I felt it was up to me to protect and take care of her the best I could, seeing as Lady Medusa had no intentions of doing it properly.

After a long hour or two of crying I eventually blacked out but when I woke up Crona was no longer by my side.

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**Aww, sadness. ;-; Poor children, but this is what happens when someone like Medusa has kids. Anyway, I plan to tone down on the sadness next chapter, so don't worry for these kiddies too much! Things will eventually clear up.**

**;3**

**~Fairylust~**


	3. A Confusing Moral Dilemma

**Sorry for the delay! I was too tired Friday, fortgot Saturday but then remembered and my tech didn't work right, but now it's all fine and here is this third chapter for you to enjoy. Oh, and I kinda lied about toning down on saddness, but that should have already been anticipated...sorry, but that's just how went. Anyway, you already know I don't own Soul Eater so that is why I've skipped disclaimers.**

**Now on with the story!**

**~Fairylust~**

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Whimpering quietly I looked around the darkness but couldn't make anything out. All that I really heard was a steady dripping of water, which quickly caught my attention. There was never any water dripping in the room. It was usually sealed up tight, only supplying us with much needed oxygen.

"Crona? Are you there?"

"Artemis?"

"What's that noise?"

"Water."

"B-but where is it coming from? Lady Medusa never allows anything to get in here when we are being punished."

"It's starting to flood."

"What?"

"There is a big puddle spreading and I can't get away from it and the snake-worm-things in it keep biting me! It really hurts! I don't know if I can handle this, Artemis!"

"Wh-what are you talking about? Crona come towards my voice and we'll figure this out together, okay?"

There was no response from Crona, but I heard the sounds of her feet moving through what I realized was in fact water. I stood up, backing up and leaning against the far wall glad the water hadn't made its way towards me.

A couple minutes later Crona had found her way to me. I couldn't really see much but I made out what did look like a long, very thin, smooth light colored thing sticking to her cheek. It vaguely reminded me of an eel without scales.

I was aghast when I noticed another, smaller one, stuck on her forehead, slightly covered by her bangs. Then I got to looking her over and was horrified to see that there were several others on her body, three sucked on the back of one hand, slightly hanging off, while five others stuck to the back of her other hand and several others were stuck to her legs.

"I-I don't feel too good." She muttered and I realized then that she was swaying back and forth. "Artemis...I feel cold..." She whispered and then her body fell forwards landing in a crumpled heap at my feet.

"Crona? Crona!"

I bent down and rolled her over and tried to pull off the weird creatures that stuck to her face but they were really stuck there and it took me several minutes to finally pull them off and toss them across the dark room. I then worked on getting the others off, making sure to throw them as far as I could into the darkness. In the dimness of the room I saw her black blood trickling from the reddened spots where the weird creatures had been stuck to Crona's face, hands, and legs.

I tried waking Crona for the longest time but after a while I decided it was a vain attempt and just tried to keep her breathing. I checked her nose and mouth every few minutes to make sure air came in and out; sometimes I touched her chest and just felt her heartbeat or how it rose and fell between each breath. Mostly I just watched out for those stupid eel things again because they seemed quite persistent in feeding off my sister. I supposed it was because of her 'special' blood or maybe they were just really hungry. Either way I figured that Lady Medusa had them and the water put into the room just to punish us further.

I was rather surprised when we managed to survive three full days. Ragnarok never showed up during those days and I mostly spent time fending the eel-like-creatures off to keep them away from Crona. During what I guessed was the final day I finally just decided to let them feed off me a little but they wouldn't take it. I even tried picking them up and holding their weird looking mouths that looked to contain a hundred tiny jagged yellow teeth against my skin but they never bit or sucked or whatever it was they did.

Lady Medusa finally came for us once more on what must have been the morning of the forth day. The door opened and I noticed a look of surprise cross her face at the sight of all the water and strange looking creatures that crawled around everywhere. One of them tried to attach to her foot but she quickly stomped it, killing it instantly. I noticed she held a bag on her back that had something moving inside. Her eyes turned over to where I sat with Crona cradled in my lap and my hands on her shoulders, while she clutched at her own dress weakly with her hands. My grip on Crona's shoulders increased slightly as I feared she held a large snake inside of her bag. She was awake now but seemed too weak and afraid to move.

"Crona," Lady Medusa said in her cold commanding tone that let us know to do what she said or else we'd regret it, "come here, _now_."

I watched my sister climb to her feet and walk over to our mother in the same manner as she had before, only this time I could see her entire body shaking. I felt so afraid for her then. She stood before our mother once again, staring down at the ground between their feet in pained defeat.

Lady Medusa then reached into her bag and produced a small kitten that mewled and hissed as she held it by the scruff of its neck staring at it indifferently before tossing it to the ground at Crona's feet. It struggled to get away, biting at the ropes that held its paws together but to no avail. It just lay there thrashing wilding and mewling in confused terror.

"You will kill it. Now."

I watched in horror as Crona produced her small Ragnarok sword. The look in her eyes was chilling. She hesitated, looking up to Lady Medusa with a blank face. "Kill it slowly." She was instructed by our mother, who seemed rather casual about the situation, "I want you to use four different methods to kill it. Torture it to death. And list your methods out loud so I know you have read your book."

"Kill by pressure." Crona said emotionlessly, bringing her foot up and stomping it down on the kitten really hard. The loud pained yowling sound that escaped the poor thing's mouth caused me to scream into my hands that flew up to my mouth almost instantly.

"Kill by slicing." she used Ragnarok's blade to slice into the kitten's chest, causing blood to spurt out across the floor and attracting the eel-like-thingies.

"Kill by organ removal." I didn't want to watch but I was unable to stop. Crona sliced the kitten's stomach open, intestines pouring out. Surely the poor thing is dead! I thought in disgust and horror, but it was still clinging to life, just barely.

"Kill by decapitation." Ragnarok sliced through the air and the kitten's head was then severed.

"Improve you technique." Lady Medusa said afterwards, scowling at Crona, and her eyes seemed to be filled with condemnation. "You were too sloppy with your sword and your cutting was too sloppy and quick. You also stomped down too hard. It was half dead when you gave the final blow. It should have been more alive so that killing it isn't a mercy. Never use killing as a means of showing mercy, understand?"

"Yes. I understand. I am sorry, Lady Medusa, I promise to improve."

"Good." She turned to me then with a scowl and cold glare. "Artemis, follow me. Crona has a mess to clean up."

I nodded without making a sound and quickly followed her, casting my sister one last terrified look before leaving out of the room, ignoring how those eel-thingies sucked on the dead kitten's corpse.

I shuddered and chased after Lady Medusa who led me to a large room that I then realized was her lab from all the chemicals and specimens that she kept floating in jars. I had only been there once before and that was after Crona had all of her blood replaced with black blood. I was there to help clean up, or so I thought.

I didn't know that I was really there to have half my blood replaced by half of Crona's as a separate experiment, so in a freaky sort of way it was like I was a small part of Crona. I swallowed hard at the memory, as Lady Medusa went and rummaged through a closet until she produced a broom.

"Start sweeping. I need to talk with you in private before deciding on whether or not to keep you around for much longer."

I done as told but looked up at my mother with fearful eyes.

"What do you mean?" I asked quietly.

She sighed. "You are my favorite, you know." I watched her smile down at me and a chill suddenly shot down my spine. I didn't understand why she said what she did or why her voice became so gentle. "I've always thought you'd make a fine witch. I know you're my better child. You always have been."

"B-but wh-what about Crona?"

"Crona is weak! It took after its father and inherited his meister genes. I'll admit that it'll make a fine kishin if I can get it to straighten up and start acting like one."

"Why do you call Crona that? She isn't an 'it', Lady Medusa."

"Don't argue with me! The moment Crona was born it was nothing more than a servant, perhaps some research material or even a weapon for me to use whenever I like. Crona is merely alive because I have use for it, beyond that it serves no other purpose. You on the other hand, you have potential and serve a special purpose."

"I-I do?"

"Yes. Being a witch means you are like me and have special powers that may be useful to me in the future. I'll teach you, Artemis, and treat you well if you will agree to two things for me."

I really liked the sound of that but I also knew that whatever she wanted me to agree to probably wasn't going to be something good. I felt really

"If you agree to lend me your powers whenever I may need them in the future-"

"Okay." I nodded knowing I had accidentally spoken too quickly, feeling somewhat wary as I continued to sweep. "I promise I can do that. What else?"

"Let me finish!"

"Sorry." I squeaked.

"If you agree to lend me your powers _and _if you agree to help me train Crona."

I stopped sweeping and looked to her. "Wh-what do you mean?"

"I mean just what I said. Will you help me train Crona? Will you help Crona become a kishin?"

My breathing stopped for a long moment. I clutched at the broomstick hard as I could with both my hands turning really white around my knuckles, meeting eyes with Lady Medusa for a second I felt like I was going to faint. She noticed and smiled sweetly at me.

My stomach lurched. I then resumed sweeping after muttering that I would have to think about it. Lady Medusa didn't say anything else but I could see the scowl that crossed her face as she got up and left the room.

After I finished sweeping I went to where Crona and I were permitted to sleep. It was basically just a small room with a large cot in a corner and a chair in another corner. It wasn't too warm due to a draft that somehow managed to keep getting into the room. When I got there Crona was already sound asleep on the cot, tangled up in the ratty white blanket we shared. There was no pillow so she rested her head on her arm, normally if I were there then I would let her rest her head on my arm, seeing as I liked sleeping with my arms spread out.

My shadow fell over her while I stood beside the cot, standing over her. I felt somewhat powerful, yet sad at that moment. If I wanted to I knew I could smother her to death in her sleep, but I would never want to do something so horrible to the only person I truly cared about so the thought quickly passed from my mind. I really didn't want to chance disturbing her by laying down, instead I just dropped down to my knees and stared at her sleeping form with weary yellow eyes. She looked so peaceful, so beautiful in her sleep. I then let myself start to think over Lady Medusa's deal some more, knowing it would really benefit me.

I liked the idea that I wouldn't be locked away anymore or starved or beat up if I accepted. That didn't seem to matter much to my conscience, though, because I started to feel sick thinking of it in my sister's presence, even if she were asleep.

I thought it sounded like a great deal. I didn't want Lady Medusa to treat me badly anymore. And besides that, I knew that I needed to learn how to control my powers, heck, I _wanted _to know what all my powers were exactly, but then again I knew if I agreed to let Lady Medusa control me then I would also have to help Lady Medusa hurt Crona.

I would have to do some horrible stuff to her in order to help her become a kishin. During this thought I couldn't help myself from looking her over once more while she slept so soundly, blissfully unaware her big sister was contemplating on betraying her. Tears came to my eyes and I knew that I couldn't do it. I just couldn't! Crona was too innocent and sweet to be a kishin!

But then I remembered the kitten.

Crona had slowly murdered it on Lady Medusa's order.

_She is too far gone to be saved_, I thought sadly. I knew it was sort of true because when I looked into her eyes before she did it, and then before that after the first five days, it was a look that I was certain only broken spirits should have. She was just three years old and I felt that she had lost everything she cherished in her life before ever gaining anything _to _truly cherish.

And this was why I wasn't too surprised that Crona was broken. It was as Lady Medusa had said. She was only alive because Lady Medusa had a use for her. If she were to become useless then I knew Crona would be killed for it.

It broke my heart to know that was the truth. It hurt me to know she would only ever know pain and hardship. It hurt me to know that I couldn't do anything to protect her from our own mother, but what _really _hurt, what really made my heart twist and knot up in my chest was that Crona didn't see anything wrong with how Lady Medusa behaved towards us, as though how she treated us was okay, as though when she used us to hurt each other was okay.

But I knew it wasn't. I absolutely hated it when Lady Medusa would threaten or use Crona just to hurt me, or vice versa. I knew that we were technically Lady Medusa's property and all, but I still thought she could have treated us better.

Maybe she could have stopped hurting us so much. She could have stopped acting like she didn't care. Or was that how mothers were supposed to act? Were mothers supposed to be so cold and cruel?

I had no clue.

Maybe there wasn't a connection like I started to think there should have been. Or was my sense of right and wrong messed up? I didn't know what was right or wrong then anymore.

My vision blurred and all I knew was that I was crying uncontrollably and shaking all over, not knowing what to really do anymore. I didn't want to betray Crona, but I didn't want to anger Lady Medusa either because I knew she would then hurt me. It seemed as though either way I went about it, it seemed that I would hurt someone, or _be_ hurt in the end.

"Artemis?"

"C-Crona? I-I'm sorry I-I didn't me-mean to wake you."

"What's wrong? Why are you crying?"

"No reason." I lied sniffling and feeling like a huge baby for crying. I felt that only kids under six should have the right to freely cry, mostly because when Crona cried it made me feel stronger because I didn't really cry that much unless I felt like I really had to. I was quiet as I got onto the cot and laid beside her, taking a little bit of the blanket, but making sure that Crona had most of it so she didn't get too cold. If she got sick, even if it were only slightly, then I knew Lady Medusa would blame me.

"It's stupid." I muttered, spreading my arms out so that Crona wouldn't have to lie on her arm anymore. "Just go back to sleep, okay?"

She nodded and laid her head on my arm, letting one of her arms lay across my stomach while the other was pulled in close to her body. She fell asleep fast and was so close that I could smell her surprisingly sweet scented breath. Had she been given sweets before coming to bed?

I tried to steer my mind away from that because I knew if that were the case then I would get mad at her because she didn't share. In the end I didn't stay there for too long.

I quickly made up my mind and waited for Crona to fall asleep before I ran out to find Lady Medusa, who was surprisingly in her lab, which was the very first place that I went.

"Oh, Artemis," She said seeming somewhat confused to see me back again already, "you've decided already?"

I nodded.

"Good."

"I-I want you to teach me, Lady Medusa. I want to be strong. I don't want to be locked in the dark room or starved any more."

"I see."

"I want to use my powers to...please and benefit you...Lady Medusa."

"I'm glad to hear that." She said with a strange, cheery smile that she had never used before. I wondered briefly if she even meant it or if it was a false display to help me not feel so frightened. "Now, go to bed and I'll get you up early tomorrow morning to begin your training as promised. I expect you to uphold your end of the bargain when the time comes."

She seemed too busy working on something to really bother with me for much longer, so I quickly done as told, but I hated myself even more in the end because I was faced with my sleeping sister once I returned to our drafty room.

She lay with a small smile on her pallid face, appearing so innocent and sweet while in the midst of her dreams, even if I knew that when she woke up she would become a mindless weapon for Lady Medusa to train and wield. Someday, I realized with a little tinge of dismay, I hoped that I would wield Crona.

She would be my weapon and I would be her protector.

* * *

**So...how was that? Does Artemis seem as bad to you as she does me? Or is that just me? I don't mean to make her seem bad if that is how she's coming off as but...things'll change. You'll see in the next chappie or two.**

**;3**

**~Fairylust~**


	4. Lamprey & Bloody Needles

**Sorry it's taken me so long. I've been busy with schoolwork, but overall I think I've just gotten kinda lazy. Plz forgive my negligence and enjoy the update.**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Soul Eater, whcih should be fairly obvious.**

**~Fairylust~**

* * *

The next day Lady Medusa took me out into a forest and began training me. She first taught me discipline and I gladly accepted this lesson, until things started to get too dangerous.

I was forced to stand motionless on one leg surrounded by snakes while balancing a book on my head. Lady Medusa threatened to have a snake bite me if I fell, stumbled, switched legs, or even dropped the book. One movement could be my last and that scared me half to death. How I managed to survive I may never know. I just learned that the body does amazing feats when your life counts on it.

After a few weeks of training I discovered my animal theme: Lamprey.

It explained what those ugly eel-like-things were back in the darkroom. I just didn't understand how they managed to get in on their own. Lady Medusa explained that I must have accidentally attracted them and since they dwell in wet climates they brought water with them just as I wanted, unfortunately they feed off blood. It explained why they were after Crona because they didn't want to feed off the person controlling them.

I was so thrilled when I learned to summon and control them at will. It took a long time but after three months of really practicing it I finally got it! I was proud of myself, yet I also sort of loathed myself for letting Lady Medusa control me.

It wasn't until it came time to train Crona that I truly hated myself.

Lady Medusa had brought in some small animals that were caged and told me to go get Crona. I done as told, bringing her to the white room Lady Medusa had the various cages that held animals in them. I led my sister to this room where she looked first to Lady Medusa, then to the cages, and then finally at me with large, confused eyes.

"Wha-what's g-going on?" she asked, wringing her dress in her hands nervously. "Wh-what's happening?"

I looked to Lady Medusa who motioned with her hand for me to get things moving along, eyes appearing a little fatigued. I did, knowing Crona trusted me more than she ever could trust our mother. I gently took her hand in mine and led her over to a cage that held two white bunnies, their pink eyes shining in curiosity at us. My grip on her hand tightened a bit.

"You see these bunnies, Crona?" I calmly asked. Crona nodded, appearing somewhat uncomfortable. "They have to die, Crona. You need to use your sword to kill them, okay?"

"B-but why?"

"Because their weak and you're not. They deserve to die for their weaknesses."

"But I thought you said animals don't deserve to die just because they're helpless."

This quickly caught Lady Medusa's attention. I could feel her eyes glaring at me with subtle ferocity gleaming in her narrowed yellow eyes that suddenly seemed somewhat cat-like to me, which was odd considering they usually reminded me of the eyes of a poisonous viper. I could hear her mutter crossly beneath her breath, "Is that so?"

"I-I didn't mean that. Lady Medusa is right to let you kill them."

"She is?"

"Yes."

Crona looked over to Lady Medusa who was watching us like a hawk, or maybe just like a hungry snake. "I-I don't think I can do it." She said with a sniffle. "I don't...I don't..."

Tears shined in her confused eyes and I could see vector arrows appear close to our feet, slowly making their way up to where they wrapped around our ankles threateningly, but only frightening Crona further and making her more unwilling to handle the task at hand. I didn't want to be punished, though. I was too scared of what Lady Medusa would do if she thought I wasn't really trying to do as I had promised. I just...snapped.

_**CRACK!**_

Crona stared at me with wide eyes that dripped tears while Lady Medusa seemed somewhat pleased. I grabbed Crona by her scrawny shoulders and shook her as hard as I could for several minutes. I knew my eyes probably seemed evil then but I didn't care. I just wanted to get this over with without anyone, save for the animals, getting hurt. If a little force was what was required to save Crona then I was more than willing to hurt her a little so Lady Medusa wouldn't.

"Crona," I said angrily once I stopped shaking my younger sibling, "you _will _kill these stupid bunnies _now_, or else you'll spend two long weeks in the dark room with the lamprey sucking you dry!"

The look Crona gave me broke my heart. She actually appeared to be in immense agony, seemed to be somewhat confused, but overall it was the look she gave me that made it clear she was more than just a little scared of me.

She backed away from me, utterly silent, and then hung her head like she had when Lady Medusa had finally released her from the dark room. Her hand fell limply from mine as she nodded in defeat. I heard a sob wrench itself from her chest as she turned to the bunnies once more.

I stepped back and watched as she manifested her little sword form of Ragnarok, holding it with a look of uncertainty crossing her pale face, dark eyes shimmering with tears. Lady Medusa then stepped over to her side with a smile, which I knew was the one she used whenever she knew she had someone right where she wanted them.

She briefly stood at Crona's side with that smile and a hand on Crona's shoulder for a moment, but then moved over and unlocked the cage. She dumped the two bunnies out onto the floor. I'm sure they would have scampered away if her vector arrows hadn't held them. Crona raised her dark sword and in a flash she sliced one of the bunnies in half.

It seemed to have died instantly, but when she stabbed her blade into the other one it made a horrible, high pitched shrieking sound that caused Crona to slightly wince.

She seemed blank otherwise, which was a tad disturbing for me. I watched as Lady Medusa then moved to another cage and threw a little puppy at Crona's mercy. It growled at her as though already sensing danger, knowing my sister was a threat, and it began to bite and gnaw on her shoe.

"Oh, nice just let the stupid dog tear you up, don't just stand there!" Ragnarok shouted at Crona from his mouth that appeared on him while he was still in sword form. "What? Do you like it chewing on your shoes? C'mon, you lazy little bitch move it!"

"I _don't _like it chewing on my shoes!" Crona whined. "These are my only pair and I don't know if I could deal with being barefoot!"

"It's not really that bad, actually." Lady Medusa chimed in. "It's really quite nice."

This didn't seem to cheer Crona up much and she seemed to just stand there contemplating on what to do, eventually though the dog bit into her leg causing her to cry out in pain as blood drizzled down her leg. Her sobbing worsened with panic and pain as the tiny dog growled at her, preparing to bite again. It wasn't too long after that when she snapped.

I stared with moist eyes as she gave a loud scream of anger mixed in with pain and kicked the dog as hard as she could, sending it a few inches back, giving a sharp yelp.

She fell to one knee, covering her wound with her hand and sobbing quietly seeming to be embarrassed about crying while Lady Medusa stood so close by. The dog charged her with a growl, appearing angry at having been attacked back.

Glaring at the animal from where she kneeled in pain and humiliation. Crona removed her hand from her wound staring at her black blood as it continued to drip out from the bite mark and as it stained her hand. She then uttered two words that I never heard before, "Bloody Needle."

The dog yelped shrilly as black spikes shot out from Crona's bleeding leg as well as the ground and stabbed into its shoulders.

I was utterly confused. I had no idea what had just happened. She raised her hand and the same thing happened but it was only then that I realized it was her blood that was her weapon this time, which made lots of sense considering her sword was technically her blood.

Yelping and squirming the puppy was impaled through the eye as well as its throat. It didn't go completely still until Crona raised Ragnarok and stabbed the animal through the skull, making its crimson blood pool on the white floor further until it spilled over into the drying bunnies' blood.

* * *

**Was that a little _too_ intense or is it just me? Ah, whatever. At any rate I'll give you guys a second update seeing as you've waited so patiently and I fell behind in updates. I hope you guys really like the next chapter. The drama goes up and things become even more-**

**Well, I'll let you read that for yourselves.**

**;P**

**X3**

**~Fairylust~**


	5. Envious Thoughts & Bad Feelings

**Well, as promised here is the second update for today, which is October 24th 2012. Anyway, I am now aware that I am 100% certain that I will not update until this Saturday. Now, those facts aside I will now get the troublesome disclaimer out of the way.**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Soul Eater! We all know this. Or should. Bottom Line: Don't own Soul Eater!**

**~Fairylust~**

* * *

"It's getting easier."

Lady Medusa smiled, pleased. "Of course it is."

"I feel stronger like after killing The Little One."

"That's a good sign. You should embrace that feeling. Now, Crona, would you like to kill some more?"

"Yes, Lady Medusa."

"Good child."

I watched as Lady Medusa lifted Crona up and held her in her arms in a way that appeared quite loving. I had no idea what to make of that. 'Mother' was a phrase I was trained to fear and hate, so what was I supposed to think seeing this person who had never seemed capable of even a simple act of compassion start to behave so caringly to my sister?

A feeling began to stir within me and I had no idea what to call it. All that I knew was that it was a bad feeling and left a bitter taste in both my mouth and heart, while my hands clenched at my sides and shook with something close to outrage at the tender way Lady Medusa held Crona. In some way I guess I longed to be treated that way too.

She sat Crona down in front of a cage that held several little plump rats inside. Crona mercilessly slaughtered them all with her newfound power. I winced when she cut her own palm open, whimpering loudly the whole time, and then let her Bloody Needle attack do the rest. It was very effective, having killed the rats without even having to open the cage.

After that I watched my sister stomp some crabs to death, kick a little dragon that appeared a lot like The Little One, but was incapable of breathing fire, to death; and then she impaled numerous other creatures with her Bloody Needles. The entire time I could see a smirk on the red lips of the dark sword she kept a firm grip on.

Afterwards when she was covered in blood, slightly sweating, and lightly panting from the exertion she was picked up by Lady Medusa who shocked me by uttering words that I never thought possible to hear, "You did very well, Crona, you are getting better at this." Never before in my life had I heard her say something as nice as a compliment. And I suppose that what she said was as good as it was going to get, but still...

She never complimented me when I did well during training. I hated knowing this, I hated that Lady Medusa gave Crona compliments, and I especially hated that Lady Medusa treated Crona so tenderly like she were better than me. Did that mean that Crona was her favorite? She had told me that I was her favorite but that could have been a lie. She lied a lot.

"Artemis," Lady Medusa's voice called over to me from her place in the doorway where she sat Crona down, "clean this mess up and then take care of Crona. It's an absolute mess and smells as disgusting as it looks."

"Okay," I muttered flatly, while I was somewhat happy that my mother was back to her normal self because I thought she was more predictable, "I'll take care of it, Lady Medusa. Then after I'm done can I be excused to train on my own?"

"If you want, it's not like I plan on stopping you." She shrugged, not bothering to even look at me. "I'll be too busy working in the lab to pay you any mind. Crona on the other hand, if it isn't in your room after its bath then I believe you will both be trapped in the dark room for more than five days, ten, perhaps twenty with my snakes inside watching you _very _closely, understand?"

I nodded quickly making her a silent promise. She narrowed her eyes and smiled a rather wicked grin before disappearing out of the room. I set out to cleaning the room, too furious and forlorn to pay Crona much attention as she stood by and watched.

"Are you going to help or not?" I demanded huffily after several minutes of cleaning that didn't seem to do much good anyway.

Crona shrugged, kicking at a puddle of blood. It spattered across the floor and streaked the leather of her old black shoes. I became even more furious with her for doing that seeing as it caused more of a mess for me to clean up.

"Fine! Then just stand there like an idiot, see if I care!" She grimaced at my words and backed out of the room a little more. I glared angrily at her and exhaled as hard and as loud as I could to display my displeasure. "Okay, fine, then let's just get you your stupid bath before one of us dies!"

It may have sounded overly dramatic but to me it was a serious matter. I stomped over to her and grabbed her wrist as hard as I could, practically dragging her down the hall.

She didn't say much of anything though even I will admit that maybe my grip on her wrist was harder than what it should have been and that most likely explained her quiet squeaks and faint attempts at squirming in my grasp.

When we got to the bathroom located ten feet down from where our little room was I quickly drew up some cold water in the big bath tub and used a bucket hidden in the closet in case our room sprang a leak at one point to get the water from the tub and put it in a large tin washtub. Specifically, Lady Medusa had told me that Crona wasn't supposed to get in the bigger tub until she was five because she supposed Crona would accidentally drown herself being so small and frail. And I guess Lady Medusa thought I was too dumb to keep my own little sister from drowning.

Recalling this didn't help my mood considering Lady Medusa had let me bathe alone in the big tub when I was only four and couldn't really get in and out as well as I could later on. My resentment towards my family built up even more so as I recalled that she was busy teaching Crona how to walk and talk at that time.

She did a good job at that, seeing as Crona and I weren't as hopelessly dumb as other kids might have been, or at least acted. I could actually speak Latin and Crona didn't really use many baby words because of how much our mother despised baby talk and Crona had spent much more time learning to conquer her baby talk than me, but Lady Medusa hadn't punished her as harshly as she had me for being slow to learn.

It just angered me at how much more Lady Medusa seemed to care for Crona. She complimented her, fed her tasty foods if she done well in training and took precautions against her dying, and she made rules for Crona to follow so she would stay out of trouble while she was being ignored.

In all honesty, I felt that Lady Medusa could have cared less about what happened to me because of how little she actually did for me. I knew she wasn't the greatest mother in the world, but the more and more I thought about it Lady Medusa seemed to favor Crona over me despite what she had secretly claimed to me.

She didn't care about my witch powers or blood or even the fact that I was her eldest daughter. She didn't care that I tried harder than what Crona did to make her happy so she wouldn't get mad at us. She didn't care I was physically and emotionally stronger than my sister. She didn't care that I learned magic quickly, or done as told, or that I always tried my very best to do as I promised I would.

And I knew that she _especially_ didn't care about how much I tried to take care of Crona, who might as well have been her favorite child, which really pissed me off.

"Artemis?"

"Get in the damn tub." I said coldly.

Crona looked surprised to hear me curse. She looked a bit frightened too. It seemed that while Lady Medusa and Ragnarok both swore I never seemed to take after them until now. I guess it wasn't until I was truly pissed that the act seemed appropriate to me. It sort of surprised me, though.

_Good._ I thought looking at her. _Let her be afraid of me for once. I don't care._

"B-but I j-just want to say sorry f-for what hap-happened."

"I don't care!" I snapped. She looked at her feet and winced when I spoke in a lethally cold tone, "Get. In. The. Tub."

"O-okay." She started to do as I said but I stopped her, grabbing her by her choppy pink hair causing her to give a small cry of pain and shock at the harsh action. Shoving her back I watched as she landed on her rear, staring up at me with large teary eyes that portrayed her growing confusion, fear, and a hint of frustration.

"Get undressed first, stupid!" I hissed at her. "If you get your clothes wet then you'll get sick and I'll get in trouble all because of _you_!"

"A-Artemis..."

"Shut up."

"I-I'm sorry for what happened." She sputtered, quaking in terror. "I-I didn't know Lady Medusa would make you cl-clean up, really. I'm sorry, Artemis, I-"

"Shut up! I hate you!"

* * *

**Wowz. There's some sibling rivalry now, huh? Envy. *Sighs***

**Honestly, the entire time I was writing this I felt SO bad for poor Crona. I mean, she already had things bad enough but now she's got her sister mad at her. Ooh, plz give me feedback on this. I'd like some ideas for the next chapter.**

**~Fairylust~**


	6. Motherly Betrayal & Death

**Sorry for the long wait, but there are three updates now! Plz read the warnings for this chapterand know that I do NOT own Soul Eater.**

**Warnings: Violence, censored swearing, blood, probably grammar issues, and lots of angst.**

**~Thanks, Fairylust~**

* * *

Crona didn't say anything after that.

She just removed her clothes and let me help her get into the bath. I scrubbed at her with flower scented soap and odorless shampoo earning several squeaks of pain and discomfort as I scrubbed too hard or got it into her eyes by mistake, though my mistake only served to anger me even more than I was and I already felt like a volcano ready to explode, though as the bath went on I calmed down bit by bit.

By the time I had finished and had Crona clean, redressed, and sort of fed what little dinner we were allowed I was regretting my earlier words to her. I wanted to tell her that I didn't hate her because in truth, I didn't.

She was my baby sister and I loved her with all my heart, even if she was treated somewhat better than me. Weren't all younger siblings treated that way?

Maybe it was normal. I wouldn't apologize though. I couldn't bring myself to do it. I felt ashamed and silently despised my existence for saying the cruel things I did, but no thanks to my stubborn pride I had a hard time saying something, anything, to Crona after yelling at her.

Instead of saying anything to her at all I simply led her to bed and tucked her in. I then left out without a word. I expected Crona to say or ask something but she didn't dare utter a word, so I closed the door behind me and left my sister in the darkness of our room. I went back to where Crona had been training and cleaned up that mess there real quickly with a little help from some of my still developing magic.

After that I headed out to the forest and began to practice some more. An hour into my session I heard a hiss. Looking around I didn't see much of anything, so I ignored it but then I heard it again and felt something brush against my ankle causing me to stumble back with a scream upon seeing the large black snake.

I screamed shrilly with fright as it lashed out trying to bite me, luckily I managed to dodge its bite. I managed to fly up and away from it, landing in a tree branch far off the ground. Hugging the tree's trunk I shivered in fear, knowing that snake could have just ended my life.

"How disappointing."

My eyes grew wide as I stared down in horror at the shadowed figure who appeared beneath the smirking moon's light to stare up at me with an evil glint in her eyes and a devious smile gracing her face.

"L-Lady Medusa! What are you doing here? I-I thought you had lots of work to do in your lab."

"I lied." She confessed with a careless shrug. "I've already established a place in Death City. I am beginning to make progress with Crona and I only need to cut one loose end out of my plans. So, to clarify things for you, my dear child, all of my unfinished work is here on this isle, for now."

"Oh, s-so wh-why are y-you here?"

"I came here to kill you, of course."

My eyes widened and my mouth dropped open at hearing this, though I had suspected as much.

"You see, Artemis, I've been observing you and how you behave around Crona, and as far as I can tell Crona will never become strong enough to become a kishin as long as you're around keeping it soft and putting ideas in that simple, little thing's head."

"So you're going to kill me for loving my sister?"

"Crona doesn't need love. Crona only needs to kill and take pride in being stronger than its victim."

"Stop calling her that!" I snapped feeling my blood start to boil with rage. "She's a person just like you or me!"

"No. You see, this is yet another reason why you must die. You can never see my side of things. You don't see that you are merely a pawn and Crona is just a tool. I, however, am no more a person than you or Crona are, actually, I suppose you could say I'm somewhat of a higher being, not as strong as a god, but perhaps close enough to it."

"That sounds so f***ing arrogant you stupid f***ing bitch!"

"Watch your mouth, Artemis, or else your mommy will have to punish you." She said with a venomous glare, smile crossing her face while the snake tattoos on her arms glowed purple and I noticed that there was some movement in the grass behind her. "Just come down from there and I'll make your death less painful."

"No! I'm sick of you torturing me and playing f***ing mind games with me, you wicked monster! Now I'm gonna fight back and make you wish I was never born!"

"Too late for that, don't you think? Unlike Crona you never were planned, or even _wanted_. You're just a mistake of convenience, but seeing as I have recently realized you can't be allowed to live I've finally decided to correct my mistake before you impede the progress of my plans any longer than what you already have."

"What are you talking about? I don't understand anything you're saying! What have I ever done, other than be a good daughter to you?"

"Now look who is being an arrogant bitch." She said with a hint of amusement. "Do you suppose you inherited that from me? You obviously share so very little with me, maybe you have some of my pride? But then again, you are such a pathetic brat. What pride could you possibly have?"

"Shut up!"

Angry tears pricked the corners of my eyes and I summoned as much power as I could. I watched as Lady Medusa scowled suddenly when she noticed that along with her snakes came lamprey that tried attaching to her bare feet. She gave a sound of disgust and started to stomp on whatever came near her. I took the chance to use my chant. I wanted to use the only attack I ever learned during my time training alone figuring it was better than just standing there, avoiding her when she was probably ready to bring the fight to me at any moment.

"Lampetra, Lampetra, Lampetra," I chanted three times because I wasn't used to doing magic without the chant first, "Poison Suction!"

I then felt the palms of my hands changing and tried to ignore the sharp pain. I already did this three or four times but the pain was always intense. I stared down at the gross lamprey-like mouth openings that had formed at the center of my palms. I swallowed hard. I knew that I would have to get close if I were to inject Lady Medusa with the poison the teeth inside the mouths contained.

"You know, it's always a good idea to watch your opponent when fighting." Some voice said knowingly with a hint of triumph. I looked up and saw her standing in front of me on the same branch.

I saw vector arrows and screamed loudly, ducking as one went for my head and jumping as another tried to stab into my legs. I felt one bury itself in my arm and another nicked my side, while yet another slashed along the back of my hand. I stumbled back some, losing balance. Lady Medusa smirked at seeing it as an opportunity to attack.

She delivered a hard kick to my midsection, watching as I fell from the branch and down the tree, but not too far down I grabbed hold of a branch and hang on for dear life, ignoring the fact that I was injecting the tree with deadly toxins.

Lady Medusa scowled. "Why won't you just die?" I heard her mutter in annoyance. I gasped as I saw a pair of Lady Medusa's vector arrows plunge down at me. I saw the tree was already dying and would be dead and hollowed in the next ten minutes.

Either way I knew I was going to most likely die so I let go of the branch I held and fell downwards through the air one minute too late. An arrow pierced into my shoulder and the other just barely hit my forehead, leaving a bloody slash. I was in unbelievable pain as I fell through the air, even more so when I attempted to fly, only to hit into limbs while going down and landing with a pained cry as I hit the grass. I groaned as I tried to get up, shaking uncontrollably as I managed to get to my feet without stumbling too much or falling back down.

I turned around to see the once mighty tree collapsing from rot thanks to my poison and when I didn't see Lady Medusa anywhere I decided to make a run for it. I ran for several minutes only to be stopped in the end when a vector plate appeared beneath my feet and sent me flying back into a tree. The impact was so hard I coughed up a mixture of blood and saliva. Lady Medusa appeared over me then and I smirked weakly, taking hold of her ankle with my hand and causing her to hiss in pain, as the poison was injected.

She gave me a swift kick to the head that left me semi-conscious. My vision blurred as I stared up at the angry, pained face of my mother. My vision then seemed to sway and tilt, slowly fading along with what I guessed was my life, but I knew that if this was death then I could die knowing I at least spared Crona the pain of having to deal with Lady Medusa for another day. I only wished I could take the last three words I ever told her back and replace them with some different words that let her know my true feelings.

A warm tear streaked down the side of my face as I sadly accepted death.


	7. The Search Begins

**Last chappie was pretty sad right? If you agree then brace yourself for this chapter cause there is just more angst coming, but don't worry things will get better. Artemis won't be sad forever and neither will Crona. You guys have my word!**

**X3**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Soul Eater, but I think it'd be SO sweet if I did!**

**Warning: More angst and maybe a bit of violence.**

**~Thanks, Fairylust~**

* * *

Opening my eyes a while later I found that I was alive, yet alone. I looked around to see if there was a corpse anywhere but found that it was too dark to see clearly.

At any rate I knew that I wouldn't have to deal with Lady Medusa ever again thanks to my poison. I made my way back home, arriving after two hours of trudging wearily through the darkness. I looked forward to seeing Crona again. I figured that with our mother dead we could start new lives and be whatever we wanted. I didn't have to be a pawn or coward and Crona didn't have to be a weapon or tool. We could stick together and just be..._us_.

I made it back to where I had left Crona and stayed outside to think of how to apologize properly. It took a long while but I finally figured out just what to say. I then opened the door ready to make amends and start our new lives together but was surprised to find Crona was gone. The cot was ripped apart and the blanket ripped apart as well.

My jaw dropped slightly when I found her usual dress torn apart and I also realized there were signs of black blood on the fabric as well as the cot and blanket.

I ran from the room and started to desperately search for my sister. I looked everywhere only to find each room I entered to either be torn apart or totally destroyed and caved in. When I finally decided to search Lady Medusa's lab I found it seemed to be untouched, but everything seemed to be broken or missing. Chemicals stained the floor and walls, some sort of purple colored goo dripped from the ceiling forming a puddle of goop that I almost stepped in because it was near the door. I looked around and found that every piece of recorded information or results that she had made was missing along with some other stuff.

I gave a quiet gasp when I found a print around the closet where she kept her broom, which lay inside broken in half.

At first I thought it was Lady Medusa's footprint but I'd never seen her wear shoes before in her life and the print was clearly the imprint of a boot. And besides that I knew for a fact that Lady Medusa was dead. I had poisoned her and there was no way she could have gotten home in time to create an antidote, do so much damage, and also grab Crona.

And even if she _had_ somehow made it so far why would she remove Crona's clothing and attack her? There were only two explanations that made any sense to me and I hated thinking about them. I hated them because I knew if either one of the scenarios did happen then there was a good chance that I would never see Crona again.

Scenario One: Someone found this place and came to kill Lady Medusa, which made sense to me because I knew she had many enemies, but whoever made it inside found no one was here so they began destroying the place probably looking for her lab but found Crona, attacked and killed her. Taking the body with them for research purposes.

Scenario Two: It was basically the same thing except I figured maybe Crona wasn't seriously hurt or dead maybe she fought back and was somehow knocked unconscious by whoever it was that came here. I thought with only a shred of hope that maybe they, or he, or she, or who-the-hell-ever it was that destroyed the place just kidnapped her.

Either way, I knew I had to look for Crona. She was my little sister and I _had _to protect her no matter what. Even if she were dead I had to get her body to give it a proper burial. It was the least I could do after all the horrible things I did and said to her before all this went to hell and I killed our mother while fighting for my life.

And besides, being three years older I felt it was my responsibility to rescue her from whoever or whatever took her. At any rate words Lady Medusa once said long ago when I was little like Crona echoed in my head and I knew that whoever took my sister probably planned on taking her back with them to Death City.

I took a deep breath to calm myself, and then started to look around knowing I would have to find some way of leaving faster than what walking on foot would. I was much too exhausted to fix the broom and soon realized I was too tired to really search for any other solution and I passed out, falling into a puddle of a blue gelatin-like substance.

I came to in the morning finding everything was exactly the same, except for the fact there was a rather large book on my midsection. Looking at the aged, brown cover that was decorated by pretty little multicolored gems I recalled nothing of finding it or even leaving it on my chest when I fell asleep, no passed out. I glanced around after sitting up just to make sure I was alone and sure enough I was.

Sighing I figured that maybe I did find it and forgot about it. Turning through the ancient pages that had faded from white to a crisp, golden color I soon came upon a way to fix the broken broom without tiring myself out. The spell was simple enough. All that was really required was some glue, a little magic, and some tape. Luckily I had magic running through my veins and those other items were two things that still remained in the lab, though the glue was almost empty and the tape was somewhat old. Nevertheless, it still sort of worked.

"Lampetra, Lampetra, Lampetra," I quietly chanted, "Lampetra, Lampetra, Lampetra," I then held the broom where it was broken in my hand and continued, "Lampetra, Lampetra, Lampetra, figere, figere, figere!"

And when I opened my eyes and let myself relax I found the broom was fixed, kinda shrunk and small but still it was repaired all the same and I could still ride it just fine.

I prepared to leave when I heard a small, whining noise it sounded somewhat like a puppy whimpering but then it also seemed like the hiss of a snake. Dumbfounded and curious I looked around until I found the source of the sound. It was a lamprey that was a little bigger than it should have been, probably close to the size of a large rat.

If others had found it they surely would have been disgusted or freaked out, but I actually found that I liked lamprey and found them to be somewhat cute despite their parasitic nature. The fact the one I was appeared very different made it somewhat cuter than other lamprey in my mind. The lamprey in the tank appeared to be a pale lavender color on top but had a white underbelly and golden colored eyes. I noticed it kept its mouth closed.

It was trapped inside a clear glass tank that had some water and was being kept in a cabinet beneath a counter that had broken glass and chemicals staining blank sheets of paper. It whined again and put its face against the glass, mouth closed. It looked so unhappy. I felt bad for it, so I opened the top of the container and picked it up, sitting it on the floor.

I expected it to crawl off somewhere but instead it made me shudder when it slithered up my leg and up my midsection to where it then perched itself on my shoulder, making some strange breathing noises that I guessed meant it was happy.

I then realized that the lamprey must have been my familiar like how Lady Medusa had her tattoo snake familiars and I was sure that Lady Medusa must have tried to keep me from my familiar out of spite, or maybe just because she was being as evil as always. I kiss my familiar on the top of its head and get on the broom, unsteady at first, but quickly getting the hang of floating enough that I attempted to fly through the nearby broken window. It worked out fine for about two or so hours, until I started moving too fast and getting too high because that was when I lost control.

Of course, thanks to my current luck, it was then that I started to shake uncontrollably and fall from the sky with a shrill scream as I fell through the air luckily able to get control long enough to make my landing somewhat soft. My body rolled across the ground and tumbled head over feet for several minutes until a body of water stopped my rolling and I began to drown. Thankfully, I was in shallow water and was able to sit up and cough, sputtering out the salty water as much as I could.

Shaking I got out of the water and noticed how my lamprey gave a small sound of discomfort. I decided to ignore it and start flying again. I had better luck the second time, actually making it across the ocean before losing control again and crashing into a tree.

It was harder to get down than it was to get up in there and even harder to find somewhere to rest. I didn't want to stay there alone in the wilderness but I figured that if I were to make it to Death City then I should rest and then find out if there was anyone who knew where it was.

In all honesty though it was hopeless. I spent several days looking for someone and when I did finally find someone they thought I was crazy, so I spent a week asking people the same question and getting looked at like I were crazy.

This went on for three weeks until a woman that I came to know in the ensuing months as Madam Belladonna, otherwise known as the Otter Witch. She was a beautiful woman, towering over me like an ancient oak tree with her muddy brown hair tied up in a single long ponytail that almost touched the ground and her bright blue eyes always seemed to have a glint of warmth in them.

I could never forget the day we met, seeing as it was one of the first best days of my pitiable life. It was a while after I gave up talking to people because everyone thought I was totally nuts, which really discouraged me.

Somehow, probably due to desperation in trying to catch a rabbit for a meal I ended up slipping and lying on my back in a mud puddle. I lay there for several minutes uncertain of whether or not to get up. And why would I get up when there was no reason? Had I not already lost everything?

What else was there to live for?


	8. A New Relationship & Name

**Last update for today. I hope you guys enjoy this, seeing as this is the chapter where things start to sorta, kinda look up for poor Artemis. On another note, tomorrow is Thanksgiving and I wish everyone a happy holiday!**

**Enjoy!**

**;3**

**~Sincerely, Fairylust~**

* * *

My determination to find Crona still burned bright within me like a raging forest fire but with no way to get to Death City or without even a single idea as to how I would find Crona even if I ever made it there I felt my hopes start to crumble and the thought of giving up was more than welcome at the moment causing a moment of self-loathing to take over.

_I'm sorry, Artemis, I-"_

_"Shut up! I hate you!"_

Closing my eyes I cried quietly, hating myself all the more at the sudden flash in memory. I could see Crona's tear streaked face clearly and could only imagine what hell she was going through or had been through after being left alone in the dark. I knew she hated being alone in our dark room because it just reminded her of the darkroom where we'd often been imprisoned.

I hated lying there in that mud puddle. I hated not knowing whether Crona was dead or alive. I hated not knowing if she were okay or not. I hated having nightmares that she was being hurt or tortured. For all I knew someone could've been taking advantage of her then and where was I? Lying in that damn mud puddle crying like some baby when I should have been looking for her! Somewhere in my mind I thought and believed deep within my heart that I should've already found and rescued Crona. It just hurt me more to know that we could have already been together but weren't all because I was a horrible witch.

"Hey there!" I heard someone say to me, but I chose to ignore them, seeing as I was too busy feeling sorry for myself. "Uh...kid? Hell-lo? Hey, little witchling get up!" This caused my eyes to snap open with alarm. Nobody else had known I was a witch when I met them. My eyes locked onto bright blue and I felt breath taken at the beautiful young woman staring down at me with a friendly smile, probably the first sincere one I ever really saw.

"C'mon! Get to your feet, young lady!" I was afraid that maybe this lady was like Lady Medusa so I done as told on instinct even if I then silently reprimanded myself for it. Neither of us spoke for several minutes, too busy looking each other over to say much of anything. In the end it was the young woman who broke the silence.

"Hmm, so why are you so beat up?"

"Mea mater nocere me." I said hoping that she would go away and forget about me if I spoke a language she didn't understand. However, this plan just blew up in my face when she finished processing my words.

"Huh? Oh, you speak Latin! How delightful! It could use improvement, but nevertheless...it's been a while since I met someone who could!" She paused to clear her throat and then she spokein the same language, "Quia fecit illa hoc ad vobis, vobis sunt solus nunc?"

"Sic."

"Vos vis ad crescere potens et vivere diu?"

"Sic! Sic!" I said excitedly, and then went on to explain my situation, "Perdidi mea parvus soror post pugnare cum mater mea et credere erat furatues per homines a Mortem Urbe et oportet invenire eius cito!"

"Heu, video, video!" The woman laughed at my bad Latin wording making me blush. I blew a tuft of hair out of my face and sighed as she continued laughing. "I-I can speak perfect English." I said then not wanting to continue the conversation purely in Latin, seeing as my vocabulary was sort of limited and was getting sloppy. "Anyway, how did you know that I am a witch?"

"I can see it in your soul."

"Y-you can see my soul?" I gasped with a hand touching my heart, as though that were where my soul dwelled.

"Sic." She winked at me with a bright smile. "I understand you are searching for your sister, that is what you meant, right?"

"Yeah. I think some men from Death City kidnapped her but whenever I ask anyone about getting there they look at me like I am crazy or something!"

"Hmm, well that is to be expected from ignorant humans." She said with a sigh. "They don't understand things we do. They're kinda weak, really pathetic actually."

"Oh." I blinked. "Well, can you tell me how to get to Death City? I really need to find her! She's my little sister and I don't know what I would do without her! She's the only family I have left, please help me!"

"That sounds really sweet kid. Sure, yeah, I could tell you how to get there. But honestly I don't think your sister would still be alive by the time you get to her. I mean, the people there are really evil. They murder witches all the time and if they got your sister then the chances of her still being alive are very, _very _slim."

"B-but my sister isn't a witch!"

"No?"

"N-no. She didn't get our mother's witch gene. I did."

"Oh! Well, then the chances of you getting your sister back just went up greatly!"

"Really?"

"Sic. You just have to promise me you'll let me clean you up and that once you get there you'll use Soul Protect. If you promise me that then I'll hand you a map in a heartbeat."

"Really?"

"Sic."

"O-okay." I sputtered in happiness that was short lived as I came to a few realizations, "I promise, but I don't know how to make it there even if I do promise that and you give me a map. I flew here on a broom, b-but I-I kind of...lost it...after it broke."

"Oh, well then I guess that just mean you'll have to stay with me for a bit until I find you a new broom, huh? Maybe some new clothes as well..."

"B-but why would you do all that?" I asked warily, having learned from Lady Medusa that everyone always wanted something in return for something they gave. "Wh-what do y-you want from me in return?"

"Oh, you know, just one tiny, little, itsy bitty thing."

"What?"

"For as long as you stay with me I want you to do some...chores...you know easy stuff like sweeping, dusting, feeding my pets, and other stuff like that."

"Okay." I said feeling rather positive now, seeing as that wasn't such a bad deal. "It's a deal if you'd provide me with some food as well as the broom and new clothes."

"And you'd best know how to behave." She said with a brief scowl that quickly dissolved and became a grin. She patted my head and I gave a small grunt of dislike as she ruffled my hair. "You may call me, Madam Belladonna."

"O-okay, M-Madam."

"And what do I call you?"

"Umm...Artemis, my name is Artemis Gorgon." I said with a faint blush. I didn't really think it was a pretty name like Madam Belladonna's name was. The way she reacted next only made me feel more self-conscious about it. Her smile faded at hearing my last name and she gave a small, stiff nod.

"Uh-huh," she said. "A piece of advice, kid, you shouldn't flaunt that name around, seeing as some witches of that surname have caused lots of folk trouble, hear me?"

"Y-yes, Madam Belladonna."

"You should change it. Hmm, well how about...Nyx? It's a nice name, don't you think?" She paused to think aloud thoughtfully for a moment, "Artemis Nyx. Yeah, I like the sound of that."

"I like it too." I said with sincere gratefulness. "Thank you for presenting me with that pretty name, Madam!"

Smiling she took my hand and led off to her home that was perched on a cliff that overlooked the ocean. It was a beautiful place. And I later realized that I felt very safe around her and quickly learned that she lived up to her word as much as she did her title of 'Otter Witch' having a rather deep obsession with every known species of otter on the planet and living the 'way of the otter' which Madam Belladonna considered to be very wise and rather fun.

* * *

**See? I said things would get better.**

**Happy Thanksgiving! ****Promise to update more later so until then, byez!**


	9. Timeskip

I stayed with Madam Belladonna for over five or so months, learning and preparing for the day I could control my abilities and being a quick learner I learned faster than any other witchling she ever met. I supposed it was a big accomplishment even if she said she had only ever met twelve, including myself, and at least half of them died due to being hunted or sick. Or both.

I was more than impatient with her, wanting nothing more than to get going, so that I could rescue my sister. Or, at least, whatever was left of her anyway. I tried to keep my thoughts bright but that was proven to be very difficult. After a little while I prayed to a god Madam Belladonna believed in.

She never would admit it, but I thought she was embarrassed by her religion because she never really brought it up much or talked about how great it was. She just accepted it and practiced it quietly, giving me the choice of whether or not to join her. If I said no then she would shrug and do as she wanted, but when I said yes she sighed and motioned for me to join her. I really had no idea which reaction was better.

My reasons for believing her faith embarrassed her were mostly based on the fact that whenever I tried to pry or ask about it I would usually get shrugged at…or smacked in the face so hard I found myself checking to make sure all my teeth were still intact afterwards. Her reaction then seemed to heavily depend on her mood.

Anyway, I prayed and hoped for my sister to be all right. And with each minute that passed with me not knowing only made me that much more eager.

Despite how eager I was I somehow ended up staying with Madam Belladonna for two full years to train and get stronger. By the time I officially completed my training with Madam Belladonna I had mastered flying, had clean clothes to wear, got a new broom that was sort of smaller than standard brooms but still good enough to ride on, and I also knew my powers like the back of my hand.

I also learned the difference between humans and witches, one being as weak and common as any insect that scuttled from beneath a log and the other being strong, unique and quite powerful. I imagined a witch could be strong enough to clash with gods if they wanted, but then again I rethought that and supposed that it all depended on a witch's caliber.

Another thing I learned was that the people who abducted Crona were most likely from some sort of special school called the DWMA, which was ran by Lord Death, a Shinigami, who Madam Belladonna explained probably ordered for Crona's kidnapping and saw to her fate after she was brought back to the school.

My rage towards the residents of Death City rose at learning this. At least if she were dead then I'd have a name of who to kill, but this thought only made Madam Belladonna laugh. She explained that Lord Death was much too powerful for me to handle.

He was like, totally ancient, while I was some scrappy eight-year-old girl who knew much less than what I thought I did. Besides that she told me he was a god and I might have been powerful for my age, but I was nowhere remotely close to Lord Death's power. Hearing this just made me huffy and even more eager to leave, but at the last moment Madam Belladonna forbid me.

It went a little something like this:

Madam Belladonna scowled at me after I announced I was finally prepared to leave and journey to Death City if she handed me the map and left the rest up to me. I thought for a second she would hand it to me, but instead she shook her head. Her bright blue hues were stern and her expression was grave. I didn't understand why she appeared that way. I opened my mouth to ask only to have Madam Belladonna speak first, sounding very certain.

"Artemis, I forbid you to go."

"Why shouldn't I go? If they still have Crona then I need to get going now! You've given me many names, explained many things to me, taught me how to control my powers, have taken care of me, and I am more than grateful, but now I am ready to go and kick some ass! And you're just telling me no?"

"That's right. I don't believe you are ready, Artemis. You have grown to have a fiery spirit. Having cared for you, as though I am your mother, I know that it will make you reckless, especially if you are so eager about saving someone who may no longer exist."

"But you told me they wouldn't hurt her if she weren't a witch!"

"Yes, but I neglected to mention she may have been executed as a precaution, being part witch and all, and besides it is most likely that even if she wasn't executed then the chances of her being brainwashed are very great. I believe that being a meister would make her a perfect student for that damned academy. If that's the case she may be disillusioned.

Your own sister may try to hurt, or even _kill _you, and if not then who is it to say she will recognize you? She may no longer be the girl you wish to save. Those wicked people probably cleansed her mind of any memories regarding you and your mother. They probably gave her a new personality along with some false memories. You must consider all of this before rushing off in a frenzy."

"Well, then tell me what I _should _do?"

"Gather knowledge. It would be best for you to collect information from others about the organization. If you know enough, or at least more than you know now, then you should be able to infiltrate the place with ease. And if you are sly and quick enough you may be able to pass yourself off as a student and sneak in to reclaim your beloved sister."

"Madam, once again I'll say that you should be a fox witch!"

"Thank you, my dear. Now, how about you make me a second promise, and then I will give you this map you so desperately need?"

"Yes!" I cried out, watching as a weary smile came across her red lips and taking her hand in mine, "I'll promise you anything if it'll make you give me that map!"

"Okay then." She said softly, letting some of her fingers run through my hair. I always enjoyed this affectionate action. It was something Lady Medusa had never done and knowing that just made me love it all the more.

"Promise me that you won't die." Her words were laced with a mild concern, spoken softly but conveying so much emotion at the same time, "I don't think I would like it too much if you were to die trying to get into the Death Weapon Meister Academy because of these silly ideas I put into your silly head."

"Oh, Madam Belladonna!" I sighed with a stern tone, though I couldn't help myself from grinning, "I promise not to die, just as I promise to take your advice and learn as much as I can before doing anything at all. No, before stepping one foot into Death City!"

"Fine." She sighed, taking her hand away from mine and letting it lay over her other hand that rested in her lap. She then quietly added, "Then you will also make sure they are the ones who have your sister?"

"Huh?" I was baffled. Never before had Madam Belladonna said something like that and it completely caught me off guard, causing me to put on an expression of puzzlement. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, nothing." She said with a dismissive wave of her hand and a nervous smile. "I'm just chattering mindlessly now! Well, here you go. Be careful, Artemis. I...I like you, you know?"

I never understood why it was so hard for her to say 'I love you' but it seemed like an impossible phrase for her.

"I know...and I will be." I said softly, as I plucked the aged map from her hand where it had previously been held in an iron grip, and then quickly adding as an afterthought, "I promise." I gave her a goodbye hug and headed out, taking my new broom from where I had previously left it on the porch beside the front door.

I noticed Madam Belladonna watching me leave from the corner of my eye and wondered if she really had tears in her eyes or if it was just her 'allergies' again. I didn't spend too long thinking on this, deciding to leave quickly before I was too tempted to stay.

So I left and the feeling of freedom was bittersweet. I was now torn between Madam Belladonna and Crona. On one hand I wanted more than anything to rescue Crona, but on the other hand I was tempted to return to the woman who had been more of a mother to me than my real mother ever had been. In the end, though, I chose Crona and it slightly broke a piece of my heart. In the end I did everything I promised Madam Belladonna that I would, which took much longer than I had originally thought it would.

I was eight when I left to fulfill my promise, but I was sixteen when I finally made it to Death City after many adventures where I made almost as many enemies as I did friends and gained knowledge almost every step of the way. I actually felt, half the time, that I had more fun than anything.

At first, I originally expected my mission to be serious and filled with hardship but somehow it seemed to have been an awful lot of fun more than anything else. This had me contemplating Madam Belladonna's Way of The Otter methods, but it was only for a very brief time.

My sixteenth birthday came around eventually and I felt that I knew all I needed to know about the DWMA. I had met plenty of witches and they all told me pretty much the same thing, though there were varying details and other stuff that I considered important. The one thing I learned better than anything else was that Death City should burn to the ground. DWMA students and staff members murdered people, especially witches, almost every day just because we're born as we are.

It really pissed me off to learn that. It wasn't a witch's fault to be born a witch. That was like saying a Shinigami just asked to be a Shinigami before birth. It wasn't true, but I knew if I ever tried to explain it to someone from Death City they'd probably disagree and put me down for thinking as I did.

I had never asked for my powers, or the burden they brought with them. I kept learning to control them though and how to grow stronger without taking the path Medusa (I decided to drop the 'Lady' title in her name when I was ten) had planned for Crona and me when we were small children. I wished that I had broken the promise I had made to Madam Belladonna in the past, but knew that was impossible. It was like some cosmic force wouldn't let me, or to be more specific, my bothersome familiar, which I had decided to call, Murena.

It was a few months after leaving Madam Belladonna that I discovered Murena could willingly grow or shrink herself in size, as well as soften or harden her skin. Her abilities were limited, but it was very convenient that she could do those things because I was able to add her to my usual outfit then.

And nobody took much notice. At any rate, I soon found myself crossing a vast desert. I walked and kept walking for hours on end.

I only stopped when I saw Death City in the distance.


	10. First Meeting: Tsubaki and BlackStar

**It's been a while since my last update hasn't it? Well, partly that is because i was being lazy, and then the other reason is that i was finishing up another story. Sorry for the wait! Now, apologies aside please enjoy this chapter.**

**P.S. Happy New Year!**

**~Fairylust~**

* * *

The hot sun beat down on me and sweat slipped down my face, nevertheless I was determined to seek out my sister, or at least find out if any of the scum who took her were still alive so I could hurt them as they did me.

I felt pretty sure that they had family as I did and I wouldn't hesitate to kill those they loved if I found my sister was dead because of them, whoever 'they' were exactly.

I was already pretty certain Lord Death had family, seeing as a man I met (he had no idea I was a witch) told me that he had a son and I supposed that I could kill some child Shinigami with ease. My power did surpass others I met in the past, so why would some bratty Shinigami kid be stronger than me? I knew without a doubt Madam Belladonna would have called me arrogant, or even conceited, if I expressed these thoughts to her, but then again, I also knew she was probably weaker than me, seeing as she admitted to me when I was younger that she had no desire to gain more power than what she already had therefore she was probably pretty much the same from when I had last seen her.

My thoughts soon died down as I entered the city having made sure to use my Soul Protect so that I wouldn't be detected. I quickly found that it was unlike other places I had been in the past. People actually seemed somewhat cheerful, just different, as they walked the streets and paid me little mind as I walked among them in my disguise.

Normally, I would have had my hair let down. It had grown to where it fell just down to my shoulders. I kept the spiked style, but I decided to have it brushed to where it appeared nice and neat. I would have worn a small white shirt that had lavender lamprey designs on it and would have shown off my pallid stomach, seeing as it stopped midway down. I also chose to wear a lavender and light blue zigzag stripped skirt with black fingerless gloves, a nice olive green cap, without shoes, and Murena as an earring in my right ear and a pink pearl earring in the left, but during this mission I thought it would have been best to wear something different.

So I walked around wearing a lavender jacket over my shirt so it was totally covered and had on a nice lavender skirt that went down just below my knees. I still wore Murena in my right ear and had a replica of my Murena earring in my left ear. I didn't wear my hat, exchanging it for some geeky olive green colored glasses, and I also had to wear dark blue boots to complete my disguise of innocence that I hoped wouldn't draw too much attention. I sort of freaked when some guys made a snide comment at me when I tried getting directions from a coffee shop worker, but in the end I decided it was the usual teenage obnoxiousness that made them say anything. Especially when it was about me.

I didn't kid myself, I really looked like a dork. I looked good, I mean, at least I wasn't _totally _ugly, but still I thought I looked like some professional science geek or something.

The worker refused to say anything to me and so I was forced to leave. I walked around the city for a bit deciding that I actually sort of liked Death City. It wasn't so bad but I kind of worried about the people. Everyone I ever met were either deadly in some way, odd, mad, somewhat malicious, or cowards even if they did later turn out to gain my respect or befriend me.

The people of Death City, however, appeared rather...different...normal, I guess one would say.

I wasn't used to such friendly normality so I felt sort of like a fish out of water. Everything just seemed so unreal. I tried as hard to ignore the feeling that someone was always watching me. This only caused an unsettling nervousness within me that sort of made it hard to relax. I tried to make myself relax and seem normal like the people around me but everything I did I felt like I was doing it wrong. As it turned out being 'normal' was harder said than done, so in the end I just decided it would be best for everyone involved if I just acted like I didn't care about my surroundings and relaxed.

This idea was a rather good one because as soon as I done that I found myself actually not caring and after doing so for a little while I gradually relaxed. At least, I was for about half a second.

"Yahoo!"

"No, Black*Star, wait!"

I was suddenly pushed over and trampled by some kid who didn't even stop to see if I was all right. The little bastard just kept running. I groaned, rubbing my head while my cheeks burned a color of bright pink. I realized my skirt had ripped and rode up my leg, showing off some porcelain flesh up to the center of my thigh.

I tried to fix it so it didn't seem so bad, while someone bent down beside me. I gave up on fixing the skirt after a minute and looked at them from the corner of my eye. I saw a girl with dark hair kneeling down beside me with worried eyes.

"Oh, I am so sorry!" She apologized. "Black*Star didn't mean to push you over like that he's just excited about a mission is all. Oh! He ruined your skirt! I am really sorry! I'll make him apologize too, okay?"

Inside, I was seething with rage, but managed to keep my voice from leaking venom and tried to avoid eye contact with the other girl so that I seemed shy. "I-it's all right." I said, silently kicking myself for stuttering involuntarily.

"I was in the way, so it's my fault, right?"

"No, of course not!" the girl insisted. "Black*Star is just real energized today and he's normally a handful, but I'm the one who is supposed to keep him out of trouble, so this entire incident is really my fault!"

"Little brother, right?" I muttered. My hand fisted my coat and I felt my eyes close as I imagined Crona's young smiling face. "You feel responsible for him because of that, right?"

"No, not really." She said with a small smile. "He isn't my brother, though he might as well be from how he acts sometimes."

I sighed, nodding; knowing I shouldn't have actually thought someone like her could understand something as deep as a sibling bond. I gasped quietly as the dark-haired girl offered me a hand. I gave her a quick, wary glance before taking it not used to such politeness. She pulled me to my feet, much to my surprise because I figured it would have been a bit of a struggle at first but she had pulled me straight up without my assistance at. This girl was actually sort of strong. I kind of admired that, much to my own dislike. I wiped the dirt from my clothes.

"Thanks." I muttered quietly, hoping to disguise the bitterness in my voice. I finished brushing myself off and prepared to walk away when the girl nervously extended her hand towards me. "What are you doing?"

"Just...introducing myself." She said, hand almost withdrawing. Was she shy or just not very confident of herself? "I figured it's the right thing to do, seeing as you were knocked over because of me not keeping a tight hold on my friend. Anyway, I can't just apologize to a stranger can I? And your wearing a skirt so if Black*Star had "

_How does that make up for anything?_ I internally screamed at her, as she continued to apologize and reasons why she was sorry. _If you want to make up to people for something, then do some charity work, bitch! Don't just introduce yourself and say 'sorry'! That's so stupid!_

"And I just thought that you could use a friend." This caught my attention again. I listened intently noticing a sad light come into the girl's eyes, even when that gentle smile stayed. "You look sort of sad and…lonely."

"Okay," I sighed, trying to avoid eye contact with her once again because I was sort of afraid of what else she would see in my eyes, "what's your name?"

"Tsubaki. And what's yours?"

"Umm..." I was hesitant at first, but figured that surely nobody would realize that I was a witch through my name, so I figured it would be okay to honestly tell her, "Artemis. Artemis Nyx."

"Hey!" I turned to look over Tsubaki's shoulder to see a shrimpy, blue spiky haired kid standing a couple yards away seeming quite impatient, "Tsubaki, come on! That witch will be gone before we find it at this rate! And then who will get its soul?"

"Oh, right. Sorry!" Tsubaki called to the spiky haired kid. She then looked to me with a smile that reminded me of the first smile Madam Belladonna ever gave me, "See you later, Artemis?"

"Uh...maybe...I guess." I said as calmly as I could while taking two steps back. "What witch are you guys after?"

"Are you also with the DWMA too? Are you a new student? Are you a meister?"

I nodded timidly to all three questions, ecstatic about hearing the last question because to me that meant Crona's chances of being alive were enhanced tenfold.

"Well, that's really nice. But then that also means you should understand. Its classified information."

"O-oh."

"I'll just let you know it's not too far from here, so I'll see around sometime?"

"Yeah." I nodded a bit, suppressing my inner rage.

She smiled and I silently cursed her. Why did her smile even have to seem so disgustingly sweet? I wanted to gag, and yet I forced myself to stay in character.

"See you around, Tsubaki."

She then ran off, leaving me with trembling fists and an inner disgust that was overpowering. How dare those two _students _hunt a witch just for her soul? It pissed me off! Of course our purple souls were rare and some of us were bad, but did that make it right for us to be hunted down and slaughtered like we were some sort of mindless game animals? It just angered me, leaving me with a bad taste in my mouth.

_No time to get sidetracked. _I told myself. _You can deal with them another time._ Satisfied with this decision I began to walk down the street once more, looking for someone, anyone, else that may have been a student at the academy but to no avail.

* * *

**Was it just me or did Tsubaki seem ooc to anybody else? I fail! I suck at nailing character persnalities. There I admitted it! Lol.**

**I'll try to update sooner, promise.**

**:)**

**~Luff, Fairylust~**


	11. A Surprise Meeting & A Helpful Hint

**So, here's the latest update! I hope it's satisfactory.**

**And I know this plot may seem off but this is supposed to be sort of AU-ish. Not completely, but a little bit so some stuff might not make sense. ****Sorry, but I'm trying to make it work as best I can. I hope you all get through this chapter without falling asleep. Lol. **

**Also, I don't want to spoil anything but will go ahead and say that I'm introducing some other ocs in this part of the story. ****Now, onto the story!**

**~Fairylust~**

* * *

The day wore on feeling slow and hot. The sun seemed to be way too smiley in my opinion and the fact only a gentle breeze blew through the air didn't improve my dreary mood much. I utterly despised the fact I was getting nowhere. I found myself eventually resting at a cafe where I just watched people as they passed me by while I sat in a sad daze sipping on a cool glass of iced tea. My frustration built as kids ran by playing some stupid game, laughing.

Maybe it was because of my childhood, the way I was raised, or the fact I've always been on the serious side of things, preferring real adventures to childish games, but seeing those kids play made me feel really pissed. I was enraged that those kids could be so carefree when everyone else went through hell trying to claw their way through life, some people actually attempting to stay alive through frantic, literal clawing. It just seemed so stupid they were playing some game of make believe when real life tragedies occurred everyday.

_Just let it go, Artemis._ I told myself, feeling very dumb and foolish for being upset with children. Of course they would play. Every child played a game. Even Crona and me had our games. Sighing it was then I realized that I was trying to find reasons to hate in Death City now after noticing how nice everything else seemed.

Honestly, it was a tad disappointing. I was expecting a challenge seeing as I was technically close to the lion's mouth, so to speak. I was kind of expecting danger to be everywhere, perhaps expecting to find out some information way before mid-day came around, at least figure out where the DWMA was exactly or how to get in without getting caught. In all honesty, I expected Death City to be like the other multiple places I went in the world. Dangerous.

"Oh, Artie!" I gave a sigh of annoyance as I recognized the undeniably male voice that sounded more than glad to see me. "What are you doing here? I thought you would've headed for Asia after our brief encounter."

"Speak of the devil." I muttered.

"Aww, you were thinking of me?"

"No. Seriously, you're the devil, Zephyr."

"Sweet as ever. That's how I can tell you love me. So, what's with the loser wear? The only hot part is your skirt."

"You know." Ignoring his last comment I flushed and kept my voice low, tone vague. "What're you doing here, Zephyr?"

"Taking in the sights. And, you know, seeing how you're doing. I expected you to be caught, dead, or at least maimed by now. You're seriously too arrogant and overly confident when it comes to dealing with these people."

Zephyr Williams had to be the single most infuriating person I knew in my entire life. He was my age with short, neatly trimmed black hair and eyes that were a rather lovely shade of lavender even if I did say so myself. He was a witch just like me. It was rare for male witches to be born, but like many other tragedies, it happened. The sway of magic almost always brings out a female witch's destructive nature; however, it seemed to _always _bring out some destructive force in a male witch.

In Zephyr's case the result of his parents union was a violent, annoying, obsessive, sort of nice, yet still a huge sociopath stalker that wouldn't get off my back!

I had first met him and his younger half brother, Richie, in Western Europe when I was twelve. At the time Zephyr was involved in a series of rather bloody murders, supposedly trying to get back at his human father for being abusive towards Richie, as well as their witch mother to the point he killed her in a rage. I thought his reasons were well founded, but hated that Zephyr had to get me involved and risk both our necks in his selfish act of revenge. And after all was said and done he confessed to being the one to murder his mother.

Apparently his entire family, except for Richie, was pretty screwed up because his mother had secretly been poisoning him and Richie for several months until Zephyr found out and 'accidentally' killed her by 'accidentally' shoving her down the stairs. Upon meeting the real him I found that nothing he did was by accident.

What really irked me about everything he did was that when his reasons were broken down he said he just wanted to toy with his father's mind for his own personal amusement. And the whole time he had his brother in the palm of his hand willing to do anything for him. Even take blame for something he didn't do and Zephyr was more than willing to let Richie take a fall for him. That was one thing I hated the most. It was one thing I just couldn't tolerate no matter how hard I tried. It sickened and irritated me, especially afterwards when Richie still remained as loyal to Zephyr as ever. He was like some cute, yappy puppy that didn't care how much it was kicked as long as its master kept it around.

To be honest, Zephyr was something of a monster, granted he _did _bail me out of a couple situations when I really needed help, but he always wanted something in exchange afterwards, which was rather infuriating especially considering his nature. It just made his animal theme make more sense. I was just thankful that Richie was usually around to keep his favors decent and reasonable.

"Well, you can relax your pretty head because I'm doing just fine."

"What's with the venom!" He asked, using a silky toned voice, attempting to make the situation seem less hostile. "I was just being honest. Anyway, I'm surprised that you thought to use your Soul Protect, or to disguise yourself."

"Hey, I didn't just dress up like a geek for appearances!" I lied, blushing a brighter shade of pink. "I can be smart."

"Sure you can be." Zephyr laughed with a heavy coating of sarcasm laced in his words. "And you don't suck the life out of everyone you ever meet. You're a great person."

"Listen, I don't have to put up with you anymore, Zephyr. I can legally kill you and get away with it."

"Maybe," He said with his usual smirk, "maybe if this were Witch City or Wonderland, but it's not. This is Death City and murder is strictly forbidden, actually it's punishable by death or imprisonment."

"Don't remind me." I groaned with a bitter chuckle, scowling with distaste. "This is just the most freakin perfect place in the world, isn't it?"

"You wish." He scoffed rolling his eyes at my question, which I could already tell he thought was beyond stupid. "What's wrong, Artie? You are so cute when you're frustrated. Are you getting second thoughts on finding your brat sister, hmm? Or is she dead?"

"Shut up!" I hissed at him. My determination flared then and I sternly, but quietly stated, "I'm still gonna find her. I just...dunno where to find her...exactly."

"Are you serious as hell or just messing around with me?"

"Zephyr," I spoke through gritted teeth, "don't you dare f****ing test me or so help me I'll beat you until your birdbrain is nothing but a fine pulp. Or should I remind you what I did for you during our last encounter?"

"I could say the same thing to you."

"Zephyr! You're such a jerk!"

"Artie! You're such a nerd!"

"Don't call me that," I whisper yelled at him with a faint flush lingering on my cheeks, "either of those things, you stupid freakin bastard! If we weren't in public I'd let Murena suck you dry, and then I would personally tear your body to pieces!"

"You're _so _cold. But seriously, you should just get out of here, Artie. These people are dangerous. They wouldn't hesitate to kill you, whether you're good or bad. In their eyes, you're just a witch to be dealt with."

"So you _do _have a heart. How _sweet_."

"Listen, I'm serious. If the academy has your sister then you should just let them keep her. I appreciate family as much as the next guy, but this kid probably doesn't even remember you. And even if she does she might be ready to kill you the second you two meet. And even if she doesn't, then there is no way she'd want to run off with you. Face it, Artie, she's a meister and you're a witch, whatever happened to her couldn't have been all bad. Especially if she's a student here."

"What about Richie? What if they'd kidnapped Richie and left you alone? You may act like a jackass half the time, Zephyr, but I know you care about him in your own sick, twisted way. Be as honest as scum like you can be. Would you give up? You know he'd be safe but could you sleep at night knowing you left your little brother alone with _them_?"

"This isn't Richie." He said pointedly. "This is some girl who may not be around anymore. You can't compare them, Artie."

"It's been ten damn years. I didn't come all this way just to quit now. All I need are some directions and a single clue. I just need to know if she's a student or if she's a prisoner." I then rested my hands on my forehead hating that I was getting so frustrated, looking back up to Zephyr I continued in frustration, "Ugh! See? This is another problem. I hear way too many 'ifs' from everybody. Do you honestly expect me to think 'If she's at the academy things are okay because she's a meister, not a witch'? That's not good enough for me, Zephyr. I need a definite answer."

"That's stupid." He muttered sullenly. "You're playing with fire. If you get burnt, or whatever, then I can't guarantee I'll be able to save you again, Artie, you're really poking at fate, or tempting it, as others would say."

"You seem to know an awful lot about playing with fire, hell, you may know more about tempting fate than I do, so don't give me that lame lecture."

"I mean it. If you screw around with these meisters and their weapons, then you're on your own when they try to kill you."

Exhaling sharply, I looked away from the dark-haired boy across from me. I took a gulp of my drink, ignoring how Zephyr still managed to get on my nerves. What really irritated me though was that he actually _did _have a point. Ever since I was eight and on my own I'd tempted fate one too many times. I had nearly escaped death ever since I was a little kid, so that didn't bug me so much as the not knowing did. As it turned out fear wasn't in the past or even in the present, but in the future. It turned out that thinking of what could be would slowly drive you crazy if you think on it too much.

"I have to try." I mumbled quietly. "I just have to. If she's alive then I have to try to save her, even if that means dying for nothing. You know, at least I could find some peace knowing I had tried."

"You know what your problem is, Artie? You can't let go of the damn past. I f***ing hate that. I hate when you have to act like some stupid bitch! And I really hate you when you get so...so...lost in all this nonsense! Somehow, though, it just makes you seem more appealing. Even when you're in loser wear. Damn you, damn you and your looks!"

"Oh, just shut up you pervert!"

"Ha! You're redder than a bleeding cardinal! It's hilarious! Anyway, I suppose I should get going before the cat gets out of the bag and I say something I shouldn't." He said with a frown that betrayed his words. A sly glint in his lavender eye tipped me off that he was hiding something. This peaked my interest, grabbing his coat sleeve I smiled a bit at him. "What're you hiding and what do you wanna trade for it?" I questioned. He smirked cattily and leaned down to where we were eye-to-eye.

I noticed he slipped a small strip of paper into my jacket pocket. I blushed a dark shade of red and could feel myself start to work up a nervous sweat as he leaned close to my ear, lowering his voice to a serious whisper. "Go to this bookstore. I was randomly tipped off by a pretty little bird that you could get some free info there if you bother the right person enough for it, I mean."

"You mean Richie?"

"Yeah. Whatever. Oh, and I need you to do me a favor in exchange for this, okay?"

"What is it?" I asked nervously, expecting him to request something perverted or sinister, both seemed to simplify his usual 'favor' requests. He was a twisted individual, yet somehow cunning about what he did, being blunt and laying fault to those who fell for his help, only to then accuse him when he wanted something in return.

Then again, Zephyr was an individual I had never really understood. One minute he was a real bastard, then the next he actually seemed to be...caring…in his own sick way, of course. It was then he decided to baffle me, irritating me all the more. His next words really caught me off guard.

"Stay safe."

I gave him an indignant glare and finished sipping on the tea, leaving some money on the table and walking away as fast as I willed myself to, so I didn't appear as stunned as I felt. I was pretty sure it would have only pleased Zephyr to see me so shocked and puzzled by those two simple words. The thought of checking the paper didn't occur until I was certain that Zephyr couldn't see me anymore. I glanced over my shoulder once to make sure he wasn't following me again, but thanks to his damn Soul Protect and the fact he was also part human he very well could have followed after me and I wouldn't have known it.

_Bastard. _Strange thing about the whole situation was that, which single word was all I could think afterwards, even as I drew the thin strip of paper from my lavender pocket with a shaky porcelain hand to look over the directions.

Sighing with agitation through my mouth I crumpled the slip up, shoving it back into my pocket in case I forgot something. It may have just been my stubborn pride that made me mad, but I was also a bit offended Zephyr had no faith in me and just assumed I would _need _him, of all people, to help me out.

That was a laugh.


	12. Next Meeting: Spirit & Stein

**So how have you guys been? I'm good.**

**Anyway, I got myself all confused about where this story will go, but for now have decided to post at least 1 chapter every 2 to 3 days to keep me from getting in some sort of writer's funk. I hope this chapter is good enough for now.**

**The next one will be up soon, promise!**

**~Luv, Fairylust~**

* * *

I managed to get to the bookshop after thirty minutes of gloomy, pessimistic thoughts about Zephyr and the directions he gave me. I partially hoped he wasn't just being an obnoxious bastard again, but then again I also partially hoped he was so I could kick his ass for it later. Luckily for the both of us, I guess, I arrived to the shop and after a bit of pestering I got the directions to the DWMA.

I also learned that the lady worker there was reluctant to give the information to me because she had a bad breakup with some perverted bastard that went there, which was just _so _peachy considering I already dealt with one of those, though felt if I got in trouble with another SOB then Zephyr would appear to rescue me as he had done so many numerous times in the past.

In the end I found that last bit of information about the worker's love life useless so I discarded it and headed for the academy. It actually looked like a kinda all right place, sort of nice. I expected getting in to be harder than what I initially thought but found that I could just walk right in. And it turned out to be just like when I was out on the streets. Nobody seemed to notice me.

I walked around the place and snooped a little. It was really unfortunate that I found nothing remotely close to being interesting, or a clue. I was too jumpy to really stay calm after a while, so when I sat down against a wall in the halls I was a little rattled when a pair of students walked past me chattering about some class they took together.

I tried to rub the sweat on my palms on my torn skirt, which made sitting rather difficult considering it kept trying to reveal more than what I felt comfortable with showing in an unknown building. Swallowing, as I collected my thoughts I tried to think of what to do next.

"Hey, you there!" Someone called to me. I jumped to my feet and stared in wide-eyed terror as a man approached me. He appeared somewhat stern with red shoulder length hair and blue eyes. He wore a black suit blazer with black dress slacks, an olive green button down shirt, and dress shoes. I worried that maybe I was caught but then relaxed upon hearing his next words, "Aren't you supposed to be in class?"

"Oh, umm, no! I-I'm new here and…uh…I was told to stay out of class…because I...uh...I-I feel sick!"

_Lamest. Excuse. Ever!_ I mentally scolded myself. _This guy is probably gonna drag you to some freakin interrogation room now!_

"Are you sure? You look fine. Are you sure you aren't just lost and nervous?"

"Oh...well...yeah."

"C'mon, don't be worried! I don't bite."

"Much." I turned to see some weird looking guy, who had a giant freakin screw going through the center of his head, walk up behind the first serious looking guy whose demeanor was slowly dissolving to an idiotic flush of embarrassment as the second guy continued talking.

"He can be quite the animal when he wants to be."

This second guy sounded so emotionless, though his lips were slightly curved up in a crafty smile. I wondered if he had ever really been a human being.

"Stein, shut up!"

"Are you lost?" Stein asked, acting as though his buddy hadn't said a thing. I decided to join him in that silent game. "If so then it wouldn't help you much to just sit around here alone."

"Uh...yeah. I'm actually very lost."

"You know I was helping her out first!" Mr. Redhead snapped. "And I thought _you _said you were sick!"

"Okay." The screwhead said, lighting up a smoke and slipping it between his lips. "Where do you need to be?"

"Uh...I-I am looking for...umm..." I sputtered unsure of how honest to be with the strange man. Getting my wits and air of cool back together as quickly as I possibly could under the circumstances, I spoke up in an honest yet collected tone, "I'm looking for someone."

"Are you two ignoring me?"

"Hmm, okay. Who are you looking for?"

"A friend. I'm supposed to meet her sometime today, but I'm really lost and feel kind of sick from being lost for so long."

"Sounds like something that would happen to Marie." The man, Stein, said with a bit of a grin. "A friend, huh? Tell me, would this 'friend' be a girl by the name of Maka Albarn?"

The redhead then burst out sorrowfully, "Maka!"

I followed suit in a quizzical manner, "Maka?"

"Maka." Stein said with a confirming nod. He then looked over in his friend's direction, exhaling smoke through his nose. "She's practically friends with everyone around here, right, Spirit?"

The redhead known as Spirit was on his hands and knees, appearing rather defeated and the only response he gave was a weak, "Maka..." Nudging his friend with his foot Stein sighed and looked down at Spirit as a sweatdrop slowly slid down the back of his neck and he appeared somewhat annoyed by his friend's behavior.

"I don't suppose anything I say will get you up now, huh?"

"Why did you have to bring this subject up!"

"Geez, sorry, but this girl here might be looking for her, you know. You should be thrilled she's so popular."

There was a sharp retort to this followed by some words that were rather hysterical, but I ignored them to take that time as a chance to think, _Everyone?_ I thought while the two men continued their bantering. _Then this girl might know Crona if she's indeed apart of the student body! I could use this Maka girl to find out if Crona is okay or not. And if she knows nothing then I'll just kill her and move onto questioning one of these idiot adults. It's the perfect strategy!_

"You mean you guys know Maka!" I said with a cheery tone and a bright smile. "You know where I can find her?"

"Uh, yeah. She's in class now but you could probably catch up to her afterwards. Why don't you know that?"

"I only met up with her for a couple of minutes before she had to get to class, and then I got lost trying to find her."

Rolling his eyes the screwhead sighed and gave me directions to the class the girl I needed to see would be in. I thanked him and made sure to leave quickly afterwards, planning to get to the class and find the girl in question before her class let out and it was too late to catch up to her.

Apparently, luck was turning in my favor because I seemed to get there early. I stood by the door and waited for five minutes, until the bell rang signaling the end of the class.

Nobody came out though leading me to wonder if something bad was happening, or about to happen. The temptation to leave was overpowering but I stood my ground, deciding to take that risk.

* * *

**So, now Artemis makes some progress. Is it enough? I guess we'll find out sooner or later, won't we? Seriously, who thinks she'll realize she's closer than she thinks within the next two or so chapters? Personally, I'm kinda debating on it. I don't want to end this prematurely.**

**What do you guys think?**


	13. An Unknown Closeness

**Next chapter will be up soon, but I'm gonna go ahead and warn readers that I may not update this story as quickly as I have been this week due to school; however, I will try to update as soon as I can when I can.**

**Sorry this is short.**

**And it doesn't really go into much, so I plan to post chapter 14 and start working on the next one after so for the next day or so I can concentrate on school work. Hope you guys understand. Til then, byez and happy reading!**

**:)**

**~Fairylust~**

* * *

I gasped like I were surprised to see her there suddenly when in reality I had moved out in front of her on purpose. She matched the description one of the students gave me. The description, which I had gotten as they walked from the room and asked, had been quite vivid so I was certain it was Maka when I saw her. She stumbled back a little, appearing as surprised as I pretended to be. She opened her mouth to apologize but I beat her to it.

"No, no!" I said sorrowfully, working up some fake tears to build up in my eyes. It was so easy to trick the blonde. She bought my act like a little kid bought candy after getting their allowance.

"It's my entire fault!" I insisted before she could disagree. "I'm such a stupid klutz today! This is like the zillionth time I've ran into someone today! I'm so sorry!"

"No, you aren't!" She exclaimed upon seeing the fake tears in my eyes, "I just wasn't looking where I was going! You don't have to cry it was an accident!"

"O-okay. I just hate being so clumsy. Normally, I'm really nimble and sort of graceful."

The blonde haired girl giggled and smiled. I didn't like that, mostly because I didn't understand what that meant exactly. Any time another witch done that I took it as mockery, but then a normal girl does it, which I really didn't expect, so I got pretty confused about it.

Brushing it off after a puzzled minute I went on to explain how I was a new student. She then introduced herself to me as Maka Albarn, internally I smirked knowing I had her, externally I gave a weak smile and tried not to seem overly enthusiastic. I then introduced myself to her. As soon as the introductions were over I lied about how the two men instructed me to find her saying it was because she knew her way around and could give me a quick tour.

"Okay," she said brightly, "I'll give you a tour of the academy. It's pretty convenient you need one now because I have some things to do before going home today. I hope it'll be okay if you that I do that stuff as we go along."

"Sure, it'll be more than okay!"

Smiling Maka led me down the halls pointing out rooms as we went along and explained what they were though even she had no idea about some of them. Eventually after a little while she led down to a dimly lit hallway that somewhat resembled a dungeon to me.

"Umm, what are we doing here?"

"My best friend's room is down here and I have to check on her. I think she might be a little sick, or something. An idiot friend of mine had her drink some gross drink and he thinks it might have gotten her sick. Do you want to meet her? She's a really nice person."

"Oh, well, if it's okay with you I'll just wait out here." I said, taking a small step back actually worried at the thought of becoming ill my first day getting to know my way around the academy, "You know...umm...I hate germs." She shrugged and so I stood outside the door while she went in to talk to whatever friend she had. In all honesty, the prospect of getting sick was somewhat frightening seeing as I was on a dire mission to locate someone.

I didn't need to let anyone or anything slow me down, but for the time being I supposed patience was the best way to go if I wanted Maka to show me around some more.

* * *

**Inside The Room:**

Maka closed the door behind her as quietly as possible. She was somewhat relieved to see Crona was huddled in her usual corner. Smiling brightly Maka made her way over to her best friend, actually quite glad to see that she wasn't lying in bed looking green. Crona seemed to cheer up a bit upon seeing Maka standing over her. Maka smiled warmly and received a weak, yet pleasant grin back.

"H-hello, M-Maka."

"Hi! I was just dropping by to see if everything is okay. You didn't come to class today."

"I-I got really nervous an-and my stomach started to hurt...and I-I felt sort of dizzy...uh...erm...I-I threw up...an-and I thought i-it would b-be best i-if I didn't g-go to class...today...uh...I-I feel better now."

"Oh, I see. Well, I'm glad you're feeling better. It sounds like you were just a little too stressed. I was a little worried you'd gotten sick when you didn't show up, you know. Stuff is going around."

"Did y-you think s-something was wrong with me?"

"Wait, no…uh…I mean, I thought you were sick because Soul said he and Black*Star had you and Tsubaki drink something really gross and I was just worried it made you get really sick."

"I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean to m-make you w-worry."

"It isn't your fault! I blame Soul and Black*Star to be honest."

"It wasn't s-so bad. The dr-drink o-only made me s-sick for an hour th-that night."

Sighing Maka rubbed the back of her neck and smiled a little nervously down at her pink-haired friend. "Do you mind if I join you there?" She asked. "I would like to ask you something else."

"There is enough room in Mr. Corner for the both of us." Crona said happily scooting over so Maka could join her in the corner and surprising Maka when she didn't stutter or sputter that time. "I-I think i-it's nice you w-want to visit someone like me."

"I like it." Maka said gently. Taking a seat on the stone floor she pulled her knees to her chest like Crona almost always did, but was mindful of her plaid skirt. "But I still really don't think you should name such a place like this. It's not a nice place to be." Maka waited a moment for her pink-haired friend to speak up but when nothing was said after a few moments Maka changed the subject.

"Anyway, Crona, I was wondering if you would like to meet someone new? I'm giving a tour to a new student. Her name is Artemis and I think you guys would get along really well. She seems super nice."

"Uhm...err...I-I d-don't know. I don't know if I could deal with anyone new right now."

"Why do you look so sad? That's okay. We'll wait until you're ready, but until then you should study for the make-up test you'll have to take, okay? If you want I can help you study so it isn't such a stressful experience."

"R-really?"

"Sure. "

"Thanks, Maka. You don't have to-"

"I want to!" Maka insisted with a hand gently touching Crona's forearm. Looking off to the side the pinkette felt touched her friend wanted to help and be around her. It was a very nice offer. "Besides," Maka continued, determined to get her friend to relent, "we haven't spent time together for a little while now. I feel sort of bad about that. And you know it's not very healthy staying cooped up in here all the time."

Crona relented then knowing Maka was too persistant to be ignored and too stubborn to be turned down. Besides, she wanted to spend time with her friend, too; but she also wanted to stay hidden in her room. It felt safe and made her _feel_ safe from all the bad things in, as well as outside the academy. But she was willing to depart her bubble for her best friend. It was usually fun when she did.

Smiling warmly at her friend, Maka wrapped her arms around Crona's scrawny shoulders to give her a good-bye hug. Maka could feel Crona tense, still not accustomed to the friendly contact, but she eventually returned the hug for a moment and then let go so Maka could leave. It seemed hard for Maka to leave when Crona looked at her with so much happiness in her eyes. It was a bit painful to leave knowing Crona probably would just spend the rest of the day in that dark corner. Maka hesitated at the door, unsure if she really wanted to leave her friend alone.

"Are you sure you'd be okay here, Crona? Maybe some fresh air would do you some good."

"N-no, no! I'm fine...r-really, Maka!"

"Okay," She sighed with a weak smile, "I'll drop by later, okay? Maybe we could talk some more then?"

Crona nodded weakly, silently wishing Maka wouldn't give her so much attention. She really didn't feel like she deserved it. At least not like some of Maka's other friends did. It was actually a little suffocating to be honest. Maka visited her at least twice every two or so weeks and usually asked for them to do things together every once and a while. And while Crona enjoyed it she didn't know how to deal with such attention. It wasn't like she did anything to deserve it.

"Bye, Maka."

"Bye. I'll see you later."

With the promise spoken, Maka then departed the room.

* * *

I was getting impatient. I paced back and forth a short distance from the door, sinking deep into my own thoughts. Maka had been gone for only twenty minutes leaving me sort of frightened and bored, and yet I also felt irritated, as though she had been gone for hours. Was she really spending so much time talking to some friend? If so, then were they talking about me? Did Maka suspect something?

Or was I just being paranoid about the entire situation. I sincerely hoped it was the later, which was proven correct when Maka came out seeming somewhat somber. She slapped on a quick smile though and continued the tour, not mentioning anything about her friend much to my relief.

* * *

**Anyone laugh? I didn't, but figure there was some humor in that ending. Artemis was so close, yet so far away. I kinda felt bad for her, but then again I also felt bad for Maka! Next chapter will be posted today.**


	14. Discovery!

"And this is the library." Maka said, concluding the tour.

It took most of an hour to get there, mostly because Maka had to make another stop to visit another friend, apparently. At any rate, I was just glad it was finally over with because I was about ready to drop dead from a combination of boredom and frustration. "Well," She continued with her almost permanent happy smile, "Artemis, I guess I'll see you around later. I have to stop by here to return some books, okay?"

"Wait!"

"Yes?"

"Umm...c-can I join you I don't like the idea of being alone in such a big place alone, especially when I might run into someone by mistake again. Besides, Maka, I kinda like reading."

"Wow, sure you can join me, Artemis, it'll be nice to have someone who's actually interested in being here. And we may be here for a little while. I want to try to get some new books that just came in. You can help me look, right?"

"Yeah, great!" I externally chirped. Inside I groaned at the prospect of being cooped up in some boring library. I _did _enjoy reading just not a lot of it and being surrounded by so many books just seemed like a temptation for me to procrastinate. "Let's get started!" I said externally, keeping up my cheerful appearance, but internally I was secretly smirking darkly and thinking, _where the hell do I get these amazing acting skills?_

It seemed like a real mystery to me, one that I pondered on for the entire first hour of being trapped in the library helping Maka. I decided then and there that I was the world's best actress because I didn't scream bloody murder after Maka decided she wanted to get five books instead of just two. Maka was also a rather annoying girl.

She kept smiling and acting all kind and cheery towards me even though she barely knew me, considering we just met two or so hours beforehand and half of what she probably thought she knew about me was really just a lie, so I kind of thought that her friendly disposition was somewhat fake. That or she was just naïve.

"So, Maka, how was that friend of yours?" I asked after another half hour of searching for a certain book. I was so bored that I was willing to bring up her first stop just to learn a bit more, and also kill some boredom and break the freakin silence that was practically killing me. "Were they doing okay?"

"Hmm? Which friend?"

"Uh...the first one...I guess."

"She was fine." Maka said. I noticed her tone changed, sounding soft and somewhat sympathetic. "She was just a little freaked about the test we had to take today. She had trouble dealing with certain things and I guess the pressure just got to her. I told her I could help her study so she wouldn't get so upset again. And after that I promised to visit again, and then I left."

"Oh, hey, look a ladder!" I pointed to a really tall moving ladder leaned against one of the really tall shelves. I climbed up it so I was two feet off the ground. "I-I bet we'll find these books faster this way!"

"Great idea!"

"Thanks...you really mean that?"

"Of course I do! That's some quick thinking, Artemis. Do you remember the title we're looking for?"

I looked away from her, as I blushed faintly realizing that I had no clue which book it was. My pathetic sputtering probably gave that fact away, "Umm...err...uh...was it..._Flight Dove Games_? No wait, that's stupid. It was...uh...was it _Knight of Fame_?" I felt hopeless then as I scanned the spines of some books that were in front of me, hoping to see a title that fit close enough, though I ended up looking back down to Maka for an answer, which came almost instantly. Maka giggled, much to my annoyance, and shook her head.

"That's close, but the title is _A Knight of Flames_. It's a romance/tragedy novel by Colleen Chandler. You probably don't know her. She's a new book author and writes mostly tragedy stories, but from what I've read of her work so far she's actually an amazing writer."

"Oh." I blinked. I decided to take the brief silence as an opportunity to change the subject before Maka continued prattling on about that author or before she got on some other tedious topic, turning to make eye contact with the pig-tailed girl below me, "Well, Maka, can I ask you a question and you be totally honest with me?"

"Go for it."

"Oh, never mind!" I pouted in false shame, knowing she would only become more curious about what I had to say, "You'll hate me for it!"

"No I won't!"

"Yes you will!"

"Artemis, I promise I won't hate you just because you ask a question. Geez, you sort of sound like a close friend of mine."

"O-okay...um...well, I was just wondering...if you had mentioned me to either of your friends?"

"Is that all? It's nothing to get so upset about! To be honest I didn't mention you to Kim, but I did mention you to C-"

"Maka!"

We both turned our heads to see a spiky haired albino kid walking towards us. He appeared kind of fierce to me, especially since I noticed his teeth were rather shark-like. He paused in step when he noticed me, eyes taking on a glint of mistrust and his smile vanishing. I bit the inside of my cheek gently. Silently hoping he didn't see through my façade. The look he gave me wasn't very trusting, but I kept my act up all the same just in case.

"Hey, Maka, what are you doing here with...uh...whoever this is? Plain-looking girl, I guess?"

"What?" I squeaked. "Wh-why did you say that? I have a name you know!"

_How dare he call me plain! _I thought angrily.

That was just another moment where I was acting differently from how I felt on the outside. I was actually quite pissed that he'd called me plain. I was quite pleased with my appearance. I was thin and had an ample chest though I made sure to hide that fact when I disguised myself. Plus, I really liked the creamy white porcelain color of my skin and thought my usual outfit idea was cute. But as soon as I heard what that albino freak said I decided then and there that I despised him.

"Her name is Artemis, Soul." Maka huffed seeming a bit upset that I'd became upset. "She's new here and decided to help me out. You shouldn't make her feel bad."

"Yeah, well Blair sent me to find you because she's hungry."

"Tell her to cook her own dinner. I'm kind of busy here."

"She's burned a week's worth of fish to a black crisp already, Maka! She's really upset because I said I didn't really care for it. Look, I don't want to piss her off any more than she already is. She also said she tried cleaning today and I've yet to check everything out, though I noticed one of my shirts shrank, so..."

"Fine, we'll deal with Blair and the laundry when we get home, but for now could you help us find a book?"

"What book?"

"It's called, _A Knight of Flames_. It's a story about this guy, Seth Sparks, who thinks he'll always be alone because he's a pyrokentic and he almost always sets things on fire with his mind but then a girl, Laura Frost, is kidnapped and brought to him by his father. They get close after a while and-"

"And they fall in love, get romantic, and a ton of other lovey stuff, right?"

"No, actually, towards the end Seth starts to fight with his mother, who didn't approve of his relationship with Laura. And during the fight Seth accidentally kills Laura when she got between him and his mom, saying that if he hates her enough then he could kill her to get his mother. Seth tries to apologize and tell her goodbye but before he can Laura dies thinking he hates her, so then in an act of rage and sadness Seth burns himself to death after killing his parents and cremating Laura's corpse on a raft that he lets drift off to sea."

I climbed higher and higher up while Maka explained. By the time she had finished explaining I had already spotted the book that we were searching for. It had a nice forest green colored cover with silver writing on it. The writing was the title, _A Knight of Flames_, and then it was followed by the author's name. Smiling in triumph I reached up for the book, arm aching a bit from the strain but I finally managed to get my nails to reach the edge of the top of the spine and pull it. It tilted back for a split second, and then fell hitting me in the face. I didn't have time to call out for help before I was tumbling off the ladder and down towards the floor.

"What the hell Maka? That sounds like the most depressing thing ever!"

"Yeah, but I figured it would be a good book for Cro-"

_**BOOM!**_

I screamed upon hitting the floor, groaning I realized I had clutched the book to my chest. I gave a dazed smile to Maka and Soul when they both loomed over me, seeming concerned. Well, Maka looked concerned anyway. Soul just seemed a little shocked that I had fallen. I smiled dazedly as I then held the book up showing it to Maka, who was so stunned she didn't say anything. She just stared with her dark green eyes wide and mouth slightly open in shocked silence.

"Found it." I weakly groaned. "I can't feel my lower back area or heart beating now, but I guess your friend will appreciate my sacrifice, huh?"

"Yeah. I'm sure she will."

"I kinda doubt it."

Maka glared at Soul while she helped me up, but I didn't say anything. I was actually sort of curious about the name Maka was about to say. I thought she had said 'Crow' but then my mind screamed that I could have mistaken it. She could have said something else but if so then what.

"Umm, sorry, but what name were you about to say?" I questioned.

"Crona."

That one name had my heart leap from my chest to my throat. The feelings that swarmed over me were indescribable, so intense no mere words could've summed them up. To me it seemed like my true search had only just begun, and then it was almost finished in merely a matter of hours. How lucky was _that_?


	15. Crona Found! A Weapon Gained!

**I apologize for slacking on this but school has been a pain and a huge distraction lately. There may not be more updates for a while after this one. I am so, deeply sorry for that. And I truly do appreciate your patience. Without further ado I present this new chapter to you!**

**:)**

**~Fairylust~**

* * *

After hoping and praying for ten or so years I felt ecstatic to know my sister was alive and closer to me than what I had previously thought. But with all the positive thoughts came the negative ones following behind as well.

I wondered how Maka and Soul knew my sister. I wondered if she were okay, if she were happy and healthy, or if she were sick and depressed. I kinda wanted to know what she was like now, but above all else I wanted to know how the hell she'd became Maka's so called 'friend' or if they really were friends at all. My fears and worries were endless but I didn't let them get me down, nor did I let it compromise my façade.

"Hey, Artemis?"

"Huh?"

"Are you okay? You seemed sort of...dazed. Do you need to see the nurse?"

"Huh? Oh, no! I'm fine I-I was just wondering if you could explain how you know...Crona...exactly?"

"Uh...sure...yeah, I guess so."

So Maka went into explaining that she and Soul, who apparently was her weapon partner, met Crona at some church and that they had fought against one another. Crona almost killed them until the two guys I met earlier, Stein and Spirit, came to their rescue and almost killed her. She said she'd skip ahead of other stuff that happened, saying they met again and fought again and long story short she purified Crona's soul and they became close friends afterward. How much of it did I seriously buy?

None, nada, zero, zilch, and in short not a word of it.

As far as I was concerned everything Maka Albarn said regarding their meeting was an elaborate lie.

"I wouldn't think someone like her would make a good friend. She sounds scary."

Maka frowned and shook her head. "You don't know her. She might sound bad because of what happened but that's all in the past now. She's my friend now. And she really isn't a horrible person at all, despite what others want to think. Crona is actually a really timid, kindhearted person. It's not like she wants to hurt anybody."

"You know anything about her past?"

"Not much. She doesn't really like talking about it."

"She sounds interesting. Would it be possible for me to meet her some time?"

"Sure, I could introdu-"

"Maka!" Soul suddenly blurted out, grabbing onto her arm. "Could I talk with you for a sec?" He glanced at me with narrowed crimson eyes. I didn't like the look in his eyes. It was the same look Zephyr sometimes gave me when he didn't believe a word I said. It was mistrust and annoyance blended together in a stare of utter dislike, bordering on hate.

Across the room

"What's your problem, Soul?"

"Don't you find it strange that some girl comes here and suddenly has a ton of questions about Crona?"

"She's a new student! And so what if she's curious?"

"If she's new then why didn't Sid or Stein or anyone mention a new student arriving? Where is her weapon partner if she's a student here? Something isn't right here. Think about it, Maka."

"You're just being paranoid, Soul. Artemis is really nice and a little shy. She's a really nice person."

"Yeah? You know, Medusa seemed to be that way too. It isn't hard to pretend to be someone you aren't. I don't know about you but something about her doesn't sit right with me, especially since she's asking so many questions about Crona."

"Don't compare her to...to...that witch! Artemis is nothing like Medusa and I don't want to hear you making that insinuation ever again!"

"Chill out, Maka. I'm just saying you should keep an eye on her."

"Fine. I'll watch out for anything odd. I just-" Maka cut herself off as she turned around to find that Artemis was gone. "Hey, where'd she go?"

Elsewhere, I stood outside the academy panting softly as I tried to catch my breath. That white-haired kid, Soul, was onto me

I knew it. Actually, I overheard him punching holes into my cover story. I knew that I wouldn't get much (if any) sleep that night, needing to forge papers and notifications and personal ID and a ton of other things that I knew I would really need. Then I had to find a weapon partner, which was actually the easiest part.

Easier than any of that other stuff anyway.

All I really had to do was start walking the streets late at night, after making a lot of the needed documents I knew would be questioned, and then I started screaming for Zephyr. It took several tries down several streets but I finally got my desired result when I was shoved to the ground from behind. I got up with a groan to glare at Zephyr who was smiling rather deviously at me, eyes gleaming in the light of the moon.

"Finally came to your senses, Artie?"

"Hardly." I grumbled, wiping the dirt from my lavender jacket. Looking up, I glared angrily at him. "Why the hell did you shove me you son of a-" And just before the last word could leave my mouth I found his mouth over mine and my hands automatically shoving him away for what must have been the zillionth time since we met four years earlier.

"Don't say anything vulgar about my mother." He said, hands on his hips and a devious smirk crossing his face. "You know that irritates me. You're just lucky you didn't finish that thought of yours."

"Stay away from me!" I snapped. My face was flushed a hot red. "The only reason I called you was because I knew you would answer quicker than anyone else because you're the only person on the entire planet that would think of stalking me!"

"You flatter me, Artie. But is that your only reason?" He inquired quirking an eyebrow and taking a step towards me. I took a step back and blushed a darker red when he laughed at me for doing so. I knew he would make me unravel like this and I hated it. _Stupid, sneaky, sadistic devil,_ I gulped thinking of how much he enjoyed seeing me in such a flustered position.

"Look, Zephyr, I need your help."

"Again?"

"No." I snapped trying to resist the urge to blush and failing. "No, more like I need to borrow Richie. Is he with you?"

"Of course he's with me. Why do you have to borrow him, exactly?"

"I need a weapon partner to pass as a student and Richie's a weapon."

"He's part weapon. He's also a human with an adopted witch mother. What's your point?"

"Look, Zephyr, I promise to take care of him and everything just let him stick around with me for a little while and I promise after this is all over I'll give him back to you. You know, if he wants to go back."

"I refuse to let you borrow him. I need him more than you do."

"For what?"

"Protection. I don't use him often for that purpose but he likes thinking he can stop someone from hurting me. Actually, I mostly just need him for companionship. I hate being alone."

"Zephyr, please? I promise to pay you back big time."

"And what exactly do you mean when you say 'big time'?"

"I mean, ugh, I can't believe I'm actually about to say this. I mean, you could demand one thing and it be anything and I promise to do it."

"Watch you shower?"

"Gross, but yeah, I said anything."

"Hmm, as intriguing as that sounds I'd rather ask for something of material value."

"Seriously?"

"Seriously. I want Murena. Richie can't be replaced if something happens to him. I want Murena so that if he's hurt or...you know...killed, then something 'accidental' might occur to your little accessory, which is also irreplaceable."

"Fine. But I swear to you, Zephyr, I'd rather die than let anything bad happen to Richie."

"I'll hold you to that, Artie." He said darkly, motioning for me to follow and then vocalizing his signal. "Follow me."

I followed and he led me to an apartment building he said he was renting while he stayed in Death City. I figured it'd be a great idea to get an apartment too. Preferably one nearby Zephyr and Richie's, so Richie could go between Zephyr and me any time he wanted. Besides, it was reassuring to be closer to another witch.

Anyway, it only seemed to take a few minutes for Zephyr to realize he forgot his key inside the apartment, which had me laughing.

I mean, he could probably plot and somehow cause the end of the entire known universe, and yet he forgot something as small as an apartment key? It seemed quite laughable.

Banging a fist on the door several times he muttered in frustration as sounds came from inside. After a moment or two the door opened and Richie stood in the doorway for like five full nanoseconds until Zephyr shoved him further inside, once more signaling for me to follow. I did so, mouthing a hello to Richie who gave me a small shrug, which was the closest thing to him saying, _"Hi, wow, this moment seems kinda awkward."_

"Richie, Artemis needs to borrow you for a while so you'll be sticking around her, kay?"

I knew if someone had told Zephyr something like that he'd have flipped out over it. And yet Richie seemed to absorb the information, and then give his sibling a curious expression before speaking, "Umm...sure...but why?"

The way he reacted so calmly, showing so much curiosity made me want to hug him. He was just so cute! Though it was clear he found me to be somewhat imposing. While Zephyr was an obnoxious sixteen year old jerk, Richie was ten and still really cute. Besides that he was nothing like his elder brother so I really liked him for that.

Sometimes, it actually amazed me at how different Zephyr and Richie were. I knew it was to be expected since they were only related through their father, but still...it seemed odd.

Richie did not act anything like Zephyr, nor did he look like him either. He was short for his age and appeared quite youthful, reminding me of a boy around six years, rather than a boy of ten. Richie's skin seemed to have a tawny coloration to it showing mixed racial heritage somewhere in his family bloodline. His eyes were large and brown, somehow reminding me of a deer's eyes and his hair was cut short. He wore a tan colored t-shirt beneath some navy blue and white colored sports jacket that had something written in a foreign language on the back and Richie also wore faded jeans and black boots and a silver chain necklace to complete his attire.

"Umm...just one last question?"

"Shoot, bro."

"Does Artemis know how to handle a scepter as a weapon?"

Their eyes turned to me. I had some knowledge but not too much, luckily I covered what I lacked with a smile and said, "Don't worry I know a little about it, but what I don't know I can pick up on and learn. Don't worry, really, it isn't too big of a deal, you know."

"You heard the lady, Richie." Zephyr said with a smile as he started to shove the both of us from the apartment. Before slamming the door behind us he said a brief, "See ya."

Richie gave the door a sad stare for a minute or two, and then sighed. "So...where are we going?"

"Uh...well, you see, Rich, to be honest I-"

"Have no clue?"

"Yeah. How'd you guess?"

"Zephyr said the same thing when we first arrived here. I found us the apartment."

"Oh, right." I breathed with a small groan of annoyance. "_That _idiot. Well, could you find us a room too? Preferably one close by...in this building...please?"

"I guess so." He sighed with a little smile. Boredom reflected in his big, brown deer eyes. "We'd best get going if you wanna sleep some before the night is over."

* * *

**Sorry to end it here, but I'll have the rest of this month to write up more for this story, seeing as I'll be losing internet soon. I apologize but promise a good chapter or two (perhaps three!) will posted when I return. Thank you.**


	16. Richie On His Own! Discovery of a Jynx!

**Sorry for the long time off! I have both valid and invalid reasons, which shall be listed at the bottom after you check this chapter out. Again, I apologize for the time off! I hope to get back on track and finish this story in due time despite being way behind.**

**Long story short kiddies, I aologize fo keeping you waiting, now sit back and enjoy this post!**

**Lol.**

**~Fairylust~**

* * *

I stretched my arms and yawned as I awoke late the next morning. The clock read eleven thirty, which I figured was too late getting up considering I was usually up by eight thirty. I started getting ready for school, throwing off my small lavender night gown and changing into my normal shirt, though I wore a plaid jacket over it and made sure to wear a decent looking skirt, which I despised, it was red and green with a checkered design. I wrapped a lavender scarf around my shoulders, hoping to keep some fashion sense though I felt like a walking disaster. I wore pearl earrings and had my hair tied up in a dorky looking bun. I then pulled on some clean white socks and a decent pair of black shoes, hating each second I wore them because it felt wrong to have my feet covered so much.

I almost collided with Richie when I left out of the bedroom, giving a sharp exhale of surprise as I jumped off to the side and avoided what could have been a collision.

"Richie!"

"What? You were late getting up and I thought you'd want to get up before it was too late."

"I was getting dressed!"

"You could've just used magic." he said, as he began running a hand through his light brown locks of hair. "It'd have taken less time and been easier. Zephyr uses it all the time."

"I like doing some things myself! Besides, I would have to drop my Soul Protection to do that. It sucks but that's how things are with me. Anyway, we need to get to the school. I don't want to get in trouble for being late, or whatever."

"Won't they notice you're not a student?"

"Don't worry." I said with a proud smirk. After all my hard work I felt that my efforts would soon be repaid, plus I was glad I could accomplish something as big as forgery. "While you were sleeping I took care of everything. All the papers, certificates, and needed identification have been taken care of. I promise you that nothing was forgotten or misplaced."

"Okay. But...what about me?"

"I already told you. It's taken care of. We'll use our real names and everything. The only difference is our background stories, which have to be totally made up, understand?"

"They'll know your a...umm...you know, though. If they do a background check or DNA test couldn't they find out some stuff? Me too."

"No." I said feeling unusually optimistic. "Actually, they shouldn't have to, or need to for that matter, do a DNA test, just like a background check shouldn't be necessary. I mean, my name is really Artemis Nyx, but they shouldn't find any thing too incriminating, especially when there should be like a hundred different families with the same last name. And I am honestly certain that there isn't _just _one Richard Williams in this whole damned world, aren't you?"

"Hmm, yeah sure." Giving a smile at my reasoning Richie nodded, following me with a more confidant gait. "It makes sense, anyway."

Arriving as early and as quickly as we could without the use of magic we managed to find our way around. Unfortunately, there were no classes that day, which I learned after Richie (unluckily) bumped into that Tsubaki girl while we tried to figure things out. She was 'nice' and was really a pushover, actually answering all of Riche's questions without any suspicion, which made things a thousand times easier, but in all honesty Tsubaki made me sick. I just wanted to grab her hair and smash her head into the wall a few times until she gained some backbone.

I actually imagined it. Her screaming and red dripping from beneath her skin as it ripped and-

"...isn't that right?"

"Huh?"

"I said," Richie repeated calmly, "we've been looking for a certain person isn't that right? Tsubaki wants to know who we're looking for. Could you tell her, Artemis? Sorry, but I can't remember things too good sometimes." He gave a subtle wink and I grinned a bit. He was certainly being wiser than his brother would have been. And he was more polite, too.

"Yeah. Umm...her name is Maka. I was supposed to see her again today. We met yesterday but some white-haired guy scared me off before I could ask where I could meet her. H-he seemed pretty scary and tough."

"That must've been Soul. You don't have to be scared of him. He has a few rough edges but is a really cool guy. He even says so."

_Sounds like he's full of himself._ I thought holding in a snicker.

"Ooh! I know someone like that!" Richie proclaimed with a grin. His eyes beamed as they shifted to me. "You know who I mean?" I gave a small giggle, nodding. Tsubaki appeared quite puzzled by this. Richie quickly explained our strange actions, "It's an inside joke."

"Okay." Tsubaki said with a friendly smile, though she was actually a bit nervous about what to say next without making the moment any more awkward. Finally she cleared her throat and continued, "Well, Maka is probably at her place right now, but I could show you how to get there."

"Get where?"

"To Soul and Maka's apartment."

"Actually," I said with a bit of a underlying slyness in my sweet tone, "I was wondering if you could show me where Crona is? Maka said we could meet today, as I previously stated, but since she isn't here I figured that maybe I could...you know...see her myself?"

"Sure, but I don't think that's a good idea. Crona doesn't...well...she doesn't do well with meeting new people. I think maybe you should wait for Maka."

_I'll bet._ I thought bitterly, though outwardly I once again smiled and said, "Okay, it's probably best to see Maka first. We'd love for you to show us to her place...I-I mean, if that's okay with you?"

"Oh, don't worry it's not a problem, just follow me."

I then turned to Richie and whispered, "I need you to look around and see what you can find out about Crona, okay?" He gave me a nod and I knew then that he wouldn't let me down any time soon. He was too loyal and committed to helping me. I just hoped he would find out more about my sister than what I had. And at the same time I hoped that by the next day I could be out of there without getting killed or maimed.

Richie soon found himself in what appeared to be the library. He gave a sigh, feeling sweat drop from his forehead. He had no idea how he had ended up there, but was hopeful that someone would be there. And indeed there was someone there. Richie heard them humming somewhere out of sight. Curious, and also hoping for some help, he followed the sounds of the humming until he came upon a young girl who was placing books back on a shelf.

The girl appeared to be a year or so older than him, probably fourteen at the most. Her hair was short, somewhat fluffy, and a beautiful cyan blue that complimented her dazzling gold colored eyes. Two little gold ribbons were tied into her cyan locks. She had a white ribbon tied around her neck in a cute little bow of purity. She also wore a blue shirt that matched her hair in color and she wore a black skirt that bright blue spots circling all around the middle. And she also wore black socks that stopped below her knees with dark blue flats.

She was climbing up on some sort of ladder to place a particularly large book away. Without giving it much thought Richie passed beneath the ladder and turned to where he faced her. Then he cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted up to her.

"Hey! Do you know where I can-" Startled she lost her grip on the ladder and almost fell back, but regained her balance and caused a few other books to fall when the bookshelf trembled lightly. Richie was cut off. He tried dodging of the monstrous sized books, only to fail and get knocked in the head by two rather large dictionaries that rendered him semi-conscious.

"Oh!" He heard her exclaim from her place up on the ladder. "Oh, I am so sorry! Are you okay?"

He felt himself unable to respond. His lip was busted and he was sure he had a fist sized lump forming at the back of his head. A paper cut had blood oozing from a shallow cut on his cheek. And he was certain that he was about to die. _Huh_. Richie thought in what felt like the last few moments of his life. _And I thought it was going to be Zephyr's stupid stunts that would get me killed, but it's really me getting hit in the head by some pretty lady._

"Please don't be dead." He heard her muttering to herself as she climbed down the ladder. "Please don't be dead. Please don't be dead." She rushed over to him and felt for a pulse, surprised to actually find he was okay and couldn't help but uttering in a soft voice, "Oh, you're not dead?"

"Uh...n-no…but I...feel like I sh-should p-probably be."

"Heh." She looked embarrassed, as she helped him sit up. "I'm sorry. Please, wait here." She apologized, and then ran off. He gave a small laugh, wondering where he would exactly go in his condition. She came back a few minutes later with a first aid kit and after making sure he didn't have a concussion bandaged him up. "I really am sorry." She said once she finished making sure he was okay and had helped him sit up.

"I'm just such a klutz! I actually kill more people by accident than I ever have purposely." She sighed then hesitated for a moment, and then she gave it to Richie straight, plain, and simple.

"You see," she said gently, "I'm a jinx."

* * *

**BOOM! Did you expect that ending?**

**YES?!**

**NO?!**

**ANSWER ME!**

**Lmol. Anywayz, I hope that chapter was okay and made up for my lack of updates. If not then I hope the next update will be, as well as the update I'm working on for The Games of Ma Beast fic I'm working on alongside this fic. ****Now, below are my reasons for being off:**

**1) Internet was turned off cause the bill went unpaid.**

**2) I had it breifly disconnected to get Wyfy.**

**3) School got in my way, as well as various school related activies.**

**4) I got into some oc stories that are stuck between being really awesome and amazingly cool.**

**5) I got kinda lazy and spent two weeks just reading and reviewing other ppl's stories.**


	17. A Dangerous Meister & First Crush

**Here's my second update for this fic today. I'll post a third tommorrow and try to get a fourth in Monday. I honstly can't mae any promises beyond that. Plz don't flame me for this. It' be much appreciated if you just enjoy the story and give me some input or thoughts you may have on this stoy. Idea suggestions would be much appreciated and are welcomed.**

**~Sincerely, Fairylust~**

* * *

"Huh?" He scowled in confusion. "You believe in superstitious stuff like that?"

"Well, yeah." She admitted, blinking at him like she hadn't anticipated that question. "I mean, if I spill salt I then usually fall into someone or something, in turn knocking them over into someone or something. One time I opened an umbrella inside and my home was destroyed by a hurricane. And if I ever cross a black cat, then I promise you, an on-coming vehicle of some sort hits someone standing close to me. I guess me being a jinx is the reason Lord Death forbid me from obtaining a weapon partner." She then gave a nervous laugh and added, "To protect them from me."

"You mean he won't let you help out just because of a few coincidences? That sounds horrible."

"No." Emiko insisted. "They aren't coincidences! My parents are dead because of it. And Lord Death let's me help. He is actually really nice to me and let's me help out in other ways. Besides, I don't think I'd do too good if I went out to do field work."

"It still isn't right he's let you buy into all this superstitious garbage. You aren't a jinx. I'm certain that however your parents died wasn't your fault in any way."

"I stepped on a crack in the sidewalk and broke my mother's spinal cord in two. And I spilled some salt during brunch. I later tripped and knocked into a repairman who fell into my dad, sending him into a furnace, which had been broken previously, but then lit up and burned him to death. How are those coincidences? I am a jinx."

"No. Your mother could've been suffering back problems for years and never told anyone, and a repairman accidentally shoved your father into a working furnace. None of it is your fault. You are not a jinx, for the thousandth time."

"Yes I am." She insisted. "You got hurt when you walked under the ladder, didn't you?"

"Yeah, but that was just because I startled you and you accidentally knocked some books from the shelf."

Shaking her head the girl sighed. "Forget it. You'll just learn things the hard way. Anyway, what are you doing here? Do you need help finding a book?"

"Uh, no. I do need help though, Miss…?"

"Emiko. My name is Emiko Akimoto, but most people just call me Akimoto. My friends call me Emiko, or Aki, though; so you know...just call me whatever you want."

"Okay." He chuckled, smiling brightly at her. Richie decided that, other than the jinx belief she held, he liked her. "Could you tell me, Emiko, or _show_ me where I can find someone by the name of Crona?"

"Crona?" A look of confusion came over her face. She seemed to become instantly suspicious, telling Richie that it was an unusual request he had just asked. "Why do you want to find Crona?"

"Why wouldn't I?"

"Most people try to avoid her." Emiko explained. "She isn't good with people. She's a very dangerous meister."

_Anyone related to Artemis Nyx is bound to be dangerous. _Richie thought after hearing that. He nodded and—heavy emphasis on the last four letters—replied, "My meister needs to speak with her, but she's busy today and doesn't want to seem rude by making it look like she stood Crona up, so she has me trying to find and explain things for her."

"You're a weapon?"

"Yeah. Can you help me?"

"Sure I can." Emiko sighed. Richie noticed there seemed to be concern hiding in her sparkling golden orbs. Was she uncertain? Or scared? Whatever she was Richie had the feeling she really didn't want to help him out. "You should follow me, I guess." He done as told memorizing each detail about where they were going. After some time of walking Emiko finally sighed, stopping at the end of a stairwell. Richie thought that the place around them looked more like a dungeon where prisoners would be held.

"What are we doing down here?"

"Crona stays down here. Nobody really bothers her because of how creepy it is, which should make her happy, I guess."

"Emiko," Richie quietly asked, "are you scared?"

"Is it obvious?"

Giving a weak smile Richie nodded, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly afterwards. Emiko looked away feeling somewhat embarrassed about feeling scared in front of her new friend. Richie started to worry about the matter then. Was he going to see some psycho maniac, or was he visiting a girl who was scarier than his brother and Artemis combined? Or was he walking into some trap where this girl would tear his flesh from his bones and devour his soul, and then-

"...you okay?"

"Huh?"

"I asked if you were okay. You look really pale, Richie."

"Oh, I was just wondering about...something."

"About what?"

"Is she really _that _bad? You know, is she a total monster or something?"

"No. At least, I don't think so. According to one of my friends, Rayhiko, his girlfriend, Lake, says that her best friend, Greene, said that her boyfriend, Haru, says that a magic cat, Blair, said that Maka Albarn is best friends with Crona, and if that's true then Crona can't be so bad, seeing as Maka is a top student and I hear she's really nice."

Richie was honestly confused by all the names and relationships mentioned, so he just nodded politely and followed Emiko when she started to lead the way once more.

"Have you ever actually met her?" he asked, referring to Crona.

"I've seen her." Emiko replied. "She doesn't look like she's a bad person. She looked kind of shy, but I'd rather keep my distance. After all, she did give Soul his scar and defected from the academy at one point in time. I hear she's completely mad." Richie noticed the fear entering Emiko's voice as she continued, "She has a weapon living inside her body and her blood is said to be pitch black. I also heard that she killed baby animals for fun as a child, and that she-"

"But that could all just be rumors!" Richie interjected knowing of a certain someone who wouldn't take kindly to all the things he was hearing. Aside from that Emiko was making him even more nervous than he already was about approaching Crona.

"R-right. Better safe than sorry, you know? Besides, something bad could happen to her and then I would probably feel guilty if anything _did_ happen to her while I was around."

"Yeah, okay. I understand." He said, hoping to sound sympathetic. He wanted to keep her from feeling sad, partially because he wasn't sure if he would know how to handle a girl being upset. All the girls he ever met were either whiny or weak; wimps or witches; or something else that made them difficult to handle when they got upset. Richie had no idea how a meister like Emiko would act if she became sad, nor did he wish to find out.

They suddenly stopped then.

Emiko pointed ahead towards a door. "That's her room." She said with no emotion. "Sid has had me bring her things, though I always usually just knock and run off. Good luck, Richie. You might need it."

"Thanks, Emiko. I'll see you later, right?"

"I hope so." She muttered. Biting her lower lip slightly she then turned and ran back for the stairs, disappearing from Richie's sight after a few moments. Oddly enough, Richie felt as though there was a chance that he might have just developed his first crush. His day was just getting stranger and stranger, but he still laughed and embraced the warm feeling that wrapped around his heart before he proceeded towards the door.


	18. Brief Meeting: Crona & Richie

**This update is gonna be short, but I promise tomorrow's will be longer. I hope you all enjoy this one though despite how short it is.**

**Oh, and ideas would be much appreciated!**

**~Thanks, Fairylust~**

* * *

Knocking lightly on the door Richie waited for a minute, and then knocked again.

A quiet voice told him it was okay to come in, so he opened the door and stepped in, then closed it behind him. Richie jumped back in surprise and found himself pressing his body against the door when a loud, startled cry caught him by surprise. Cringing he met the confused and frightened gaze of a pink-haired girl, who was huddled in a corner with a pillow clutched to her chest appearing quite startled to see him while squeezing the life from her pillow. Her body trembled. She appeared so thin and delicate that he expected her to break at any moment.

"Crona?" he addressed her softly. "Are you Crona?"

"Wh-who are you?" She sputtered ignoring his question. It was clear that she was anxious and felt threatened by his presence, so he tried to appear as friendly and nice as possible so she didn't freak out and do something. Richie had no idea what she'd do but not knowing made it even more nerve raking.

"How do you know my name? Wh-why are you here?"

"Oh, uh, my name is Richie and I..." his voice trailed off as he didn't know what to say next. He watched as her wary eyes continued to stare at him apprehensively. After a minute or two of silence he took a step towards her, noticing how she flinched and hugged her pillow tighter than before, so he paused and stood very still.

"I know someone who has been worried about you. She's-"

Crona then interjected, "M-Maka?"

"Huh?"

"Maka? Are you t-talking about...Maka?"

He licked his parched lips as he thought of a response. Not wanting to risk losing the vague trust he saw appear in her eyes he nodded, hoping Artemis wouldn't be upset with him later when he explained things to her. "Yeah," he lied. Clearing his throat he smiled weakly. "I know Maka. We're friends, you know, sort of. She's really nice, isn't she?"

"Yes," Crona replied with a gentle smile, "she is very kind."

Richie relaxed a bit at seeing the pinkette calm down. The anxiety eased away slowly, cautiousness still remained but she seemed a bit more trusting. The softness of her features and tone were soothing. They were a good contrast from the fear and panic she displayed earlier at seeing him, yet Richie refused to lower his guard just in case she had a sudden change in mood.

"Well, she's worried about you and she wants to see you, very badly." Richie explained, though when he said 'Maka' he really meant 'Artemis' and hoped, again, that Artemis wouldn't be upset with him later. "But she can't visit you, at least not for now."

"Oh? Why hasn't she come to see me, then?"

"Umm...you see, she's very busy. School and missions and stuff."

Crona nodded in understanding. It was like she could sympathize, but was still disappointed to hear it. Richie kept his lie going smoothly, listening carefully when Crona spoke up.

"Does she want to meet me someplace to talk in private then?" she asked, as though it had happened before. Richie liked the idea, but knew agreeing too quickly would seem a little suspicious.

"No," he replied casually, "actually she asked me to speak with you, but meeting someplace is a great idea! You pick the place and I promise to tell her about it, okay?"

"Okay." She said. Giving it thought for a minute she finally gave her suggestion. "How about the basketball court?"

"That's a great idea!" he exclaimed. "You'll be there tonight, right? At nine 'o clock sharp?"

"Why at night?"

"Nobody will be around, right?" He waited for her to nod, and then continued with his explanation. He made sure to speak slowly so that he had time to think, but to also sound convincing. "So no interruptions and besides you wouldn't want anyone bothering you, right?"

She nodded with a weak-willed smile. "I understand." she said quietly. "Umm...could you...uh...tell Maka I'll be there. I promise. And that…I said 'hi'?"

"Okay, great." Richie said with a cheery smile. He turned then ready to leave, having fulfilled his current mission so far. "I hope you have a great day! And I will be sure to tell her." He lied.

"Thank you." She murmured. "Bye."

He left then, running down the hall ready to report the arrangement to his temporary meister.

* * *

**Will Artemis meet up with Crona? How will she react? Will Richie ever see Emiko again? Will Crona prove the rumors true or false? And where is Maka and the gang during all of this? Will Zephyr show up any time soon? ****All these questions might be answered next chapter!**

**~Byez for Now, Fairylust~**


	19. A Night of Violence & Disappointment

**Back to Artemis's POV**

**Things get heated up in this chapter so watch out!**

* * *

Later that evening after meeting up back at the apartment I explained how I smoothed things over between Maka and that freaky scythe partner of hers. He still didn't trust me, but what the hell did I care? I hoped to get Crona and leave as soon as possible. It wasn't like I trusted them either.

Anyway, Richie explained how he managed to find Crona, which really lifted my spirits and gave me joy, not enough to make me cry, but enough that I couldn't stop smiling and was utterly speechless.

He explained how he made an arrangement for us to meet under false pretenses. He supposed I would be mad, but how the hell could I be mad? I was so overjoyed, so _pleased _with him that I hugged the daylights out of him, which I guess was pretty scary for him considering how cold and collected I tried to keep around him and Zephyr.

"I can't thank you enough! When do I go meet her?"

"I said her friend would meet her at a basketball court at nine tonight."

"Damn!" I laughed. "Damn it all, Richie!"

"What? What's the matter?"

"This is so lucky! Maka and Soul took me there to play with their loser friends. I know where it is. This is so freaking lucky, Richie! You're amazing, you know that?"

"I'm glad you're happy, Artemis, but are you sure this is a good idea? I mean, Zephyr had talked about this with me and I think he might be right about some things."

"Like what?"

"Well, what if she's brainwashed? What if she tries to hurt, or even kill you? Or what if..."

"What? 'What if' what, Richie?"

"What if Crona...is...happy here?"

"Yeah right!" I scoffed rolling my eyes. A dark anger crept into my tone at the very idea. "Why would she be?"

"W-well," Richie sputtered with obvious fear at my anger that had been intentionally directed at him, "Ar-Artemis, sh-she told me that sh-she has f-friends here. She l-likes some g-girl...Maka...th-they're b-best friends."

"So what?" I demanded, towering over poor Richie who was shivering like crazy. "I'm her sister! _I'm_ the one who will decide what is best for her, got it Richie?"

"Y-yeah, sure."

"Good." I sighed in a calmer tone that was peppered by annoyance. I knew that I was going to need protection, just in case things took a turn for the worst and she needed a weapon so that she wouldn't have to use her witch powers. "Now change form so we can get going." Without further argument Richie done as told, transforming into his scepter weapon form. I wielded him as though I had a million times before, instead of it being my first time.

Soon after that we were off. I headed through the city with an excited light lifting my spirits and making my heart soar. Happy tears flooded my eyes but never fell because I wasn't a baby and didn't feel the need to cry without being in some great or immense agony. It was strange because even when the stinging wasps of anguish—I felt the need to cry—swarmed my chest. It was so overrated, but whatever! I was going to see my baby sister again! I was totally overjoyed.

Until I arrived at the basketball court and found she wasn't there.

"What the hell, Richie?" I exclaimed, glaring at the weapon in my hand. "I thought you said she would be here!"

"Sorry, Artemis!" He apologized, appearing totally terrified as I saw his face flash through the orb. "But I did tell her to meet us here, honest! Maybe she's just late?"

"Maybe..."

So I waited. Eventually after tiring I sat down and looked to the sky, seeing the night was slowly coming to a close as the moon started to get drowsy up in the vast sky. I tried to act calm and be patient; however, on the inside I was seething. What could have happened to change Crona's mind about showing up? It was then I got somewhat of an idea. It had to have been that girl, Maka Albarn. That little bitch! I thought as this idea occurred to me. She's going to ruin everything! Surely, Crona will be suspicious if that bitch told her she didn't know Richie! And she'll raise questions...

"That blonde haired whore is toast." I muttered, as I got to my feet.

I let my soul protect down and in a puff of smoke transformed into my true self, losing the appearance of a harmless geek, and standing as a deceitful looking witch who was more than ready to kick some ass. I started to leave but paused when Richie's loud, shrill voice filled with panic and screamed out at me while he was still in his weapon state. "Artemis are you crazy?" he shouted. "Or are you trying to get us killed? You need to stop and think this through!"

"Relax. I'm just gonna give that nosy, goody-two-shoes Albarn girl a visit. By the time I'm finished with her nobody will get in my way, especially someone as pathetic as her!"

"No! Artemis, if you hurt her then everyone will be looking for the one responsible, and then how will you get to Crona?"

"Shut up!" I snapped. All my patience was gone and I was determined to do whatever it took to finish my mission, no matter what it took. "Everything will work out, Richie! I'm gonna make sure there's nothing left for anyone to find, except a freakin smear on the ground."

I could almost imagine Richie as he shuddered, reflected within the scepter. I smirked at hearing how dark I sounded. I liked the sound of what I said. Richie gave some more protests and begged me not to do it some more, but I ignored him and started heading for the apartment Maka and her weapon partner lived.

It wasn't long before we arrived and I couldn't help but to feel as though it was right. My heart was filled to the brim by darkness and a sense of freedom washed over me. The air blew through my black strands of hair as I stood on the roof of a building across from one of the targeted apartment's window, which had a dim light on letting me know that someone was awake inside.

Frowning, I decided to see if it was the person I was after, so I done what any sensible witch would do in my position. I flew over to check and see if the window was unlocked, which it was, but unfortunately for me I was greeted by a shrill noise that broke the silence of the air. And the next thing I knew I had something clawing at my freakin face!

"You stay back, witch!"

Whatever it was, some dark shape moved swiftly and retreated to where it stood a few feet away from me in the windowsill.

I blinked. Then I rubbed my eyes and shook my head to make sure I was seeing things right. Was I high or something? Or did I really just see a talking cat who was also wearing a rather stereotypical witch's hat? Okay, so maybe magic wasn't new to me but I had never, until then, encountered a magic cat that could talk. It was so f***ing weird! I felt like I should have been high on some sort of drug. However, I quickly shook this thought off and snapped back to my senses, so I could fight the cat off first before getting to Maka.

I held Richie firmly ignoring his plea for me to just back off. I then challenged the feline before me, "Bring it kitten! I'll smash you into cat chow!"

"You shouldn't be so cocky. I'm a lot stronger than I look."

Those words made me laugh. Then suddenly I was sent back by some sort of powerful blast. I felt the horrid sting of burns on my chest and stomach. Standing I found that my shirt was singed and my stomach was, indeed, burnt lightly so that the skin was discolored, though luckily not bad enough that I bled. "Damn cat!" I swore through gritted teeth, wincing when I lightly touched my singed cheek and winced promptly after.

I held Richie more than ready to battle when out of nowhere another witch dressed in some skimpy black number appeared out of what seemed like nowhere. She stood a few feet in front of me appearing quite deadly despite the careless smile she wore. I saw danger in her catty, yellow eyes. "Who are you?" I demanded. "Where is that stupid cat?"

"That'd be me! _You _are obviously not a very nice little witch. And your outfit is just awful! You look like some street punk wannabe."

"Hey, lady! I didn't come all this way to get one-upped and criticized by some magical, flearidden cat skank! If you wanna fight then fight me, but if all you're gonna do is flap your gums then get the hell out of my way!"

"Humph! You need to learn some manners! Pum-pum-pum-pum-pumkin!"

_"Artemis! Look out!"_

I moved out of the way just as some sort of weird jack-o-lantern bomb whizzed right by my head. "Whoa! Thanks, Rich." If not for Richie's warning I probably would have been dead. Unfortunately, the stupid magic cat/lady/thing moved fast and before I knew it four other bombs that were tossed my way blew. I would have fallen back to earth if not for my ability to fly. I landed safely on the rooftop of a different building feeling blood as it ran down the back of my neck from a head wound inflicted by one of those damn jack-o-lantern bombs.

I shook all over and ended up falling flat on my face. I lay thinking for the next few minutes, hearing screams from Richie who I grasped weakly in one hand. I felt that it was unrealistic for a creature like that to be so powerful. I also felt royally pissed that I was getting the hell beat from me, but contributed that to me not having my familiar with me. Murena was one of my strengths in battle and without that strength I was weakened, but I knew that if I wanted to win then I would have to let go of whatever calm I had left and let my rage take over. And I _really _wanted to win that fight.

I heard the sound of footsteps on the rooftop then and I knew just who it was. I gave a frustrated grunt as I got up once more glaring spitefully at the purple-haired woman/cat creature. She smiled at me, not seeming at all threatened by me. It was clear she was willing to give me the first move this time. My grip on Richie tightened. I knew he was ready to fight as well. The orb at the top of the weapon glowed an ominous color of blue illuminating my figure and slightly healed my wounds just enough that the bleeding stopped. Licking some blood from my lower lip I then charged her.

She dodged effortlessly to the side when I swung at her. Again and again I swung Richie at her but each time she dodged the blow with ease. I knew she was toying with me. I knew she wasn't even taking me seriously, but that was okay because it only added to my lustful rage, which drove me forwards in an attempt to spill some blood from my enemy.

The next time I swung I knew she would dodge so I lashed out with my foot, which met the center of her stomach. She gave a yelp and cry of surprise and some pain when that happened, tumbling back so much that she almost fell from the rooftop, while she tried to catch her balance I threw Richie and he hit the young purple-haired woman head-on sending her over the edge of the building. I ran and leapt over the edge after her managing to catch Richie before he hit the ground. I slowed the pace of my falling and thought of where I should land when it came time to strike again.

Below me I saw that the woman had landed on her feet, somewhat shakily. She swayed and stumbled a little off to the side clearly shaken from the blow she had taken to the head. I got an advantage then as I then landed close by and savagely clubbed her once more in the center of her skull. She cried out in agony, but I ignored that as I grabbed a handful of her purple hair and headbutted her as hard as I could.

It took me a minute to recover from that one whereas she sat leaned over on the ground, arms around her midsection. She was moaning in agony while her hands moved up to clutch her head that was most likely throbbing with pain. That's when I raised my partner high into the air.

_"Artemis, she's had enough!"_ I heard Richie say, but I ignored him as though he had never said anything at all. _"Artemis!"_

As soon as I recovered I slammed Richie into her side, smirking in wicked mirth when I heard something crunch. She cried out in pain and stumbled to the ground where she lay wounded and helpless, breathing hard with blood dripping down her temple and starting to leak from the corner of her mouth. "Not so...tough now...are you...skank?" I said in between pants. I rose Richie once more to finish her when a voice called out from behind me causing me to freeze.

"Hey, witch, leave my house cat alone!"

* * *

**Duh-duh-duh! *Followed by scary death music***

**Next chapter we'll see some Maka/Soul vs. Artemis/Richie. Who will win? Who will cry? And will Blair recover from getting bashed in her pretty kitty head? We might never find that last one out!**

**P.S. Sorry if the fight scene between Blair and Artemis lacked in detail or was kinda sucky.**


	20. Regrouping

Glancing over my shoulder I saw the very girl I had come to kill.

"Get away from her!" the meister shouted as she leapt into the air and swung her scythe at me. I dodged away and watched as she took a defensive stance in front of the young woman who had since transformed back into the form of a badly battered black cat. Maka lifted her up and cradled the wounded animal in one arm. "I don't know who you are, but you are not walking away after what you've done."

_"Artemis,"_ I heard Richie say quietly within my head. _"Artemis, you can't tell her your name, or let her see your face! What if she remembers you and puts two and two together? Everything will fall apart! And besides that you're hurt too badly to put up much of a fight against someone as strong as her. We need to get out of here and re-think this entire plan."_

"No, Richie," I muttered, "you're wrong. I can take this little bitch any day of the week no matter the conditions."

_"You know I'm right! We need to get away before she kills us! Artemis, we know nothing about her powers or fighting styles! How can we beat her without a plan? Even if we did think up something she'll probably cut you down in the middle of the battle. You're too hurt right now. Please, Artemis, listen to me!"_

I hated to admit it but I knew he was right. Without a word of admission I gave in with a sigh, prepared to take flight before any of Richie's predictions came true.

"You can just call me, Nyx." I told Maka while I kept my face shadowed in the darkness, though I did chance to look up at her with narrowed, spiteful yellow eyes. "And I _will_ be back to kill you tomorrow."

"We'll see about that."

"If you wanna fight then I'll expect you to meet me here this time tomorrow, got it?"

"Better yet," Maka said with a scowl, "why don't you just leave this city and keep your crummy soul? I can promise you, Nyx, that if you stay then I will take it from you without any hesitation."

_"Let's go!"_

"I'm not leaving until I see the person that brought me here!" I shouted to both Maka and Richie.

"And who would that be?"

_"Artemis! Don't answer that, just run! _Now_!"_

"I am here to see the only meister of the surname, 'Gorgon'."

"Gorgon? Wait..." She seemed to give this some thought and after a full minute of contemplation a look of pure realization came over her features.

Her eyes of dark green lit up, widened, and then narrowed within a short span of time as she came to realize whom I meant. "Crona? What do you want with Crona?" She demanded. If I didn't know any better I would think she sounded rather protective. "Are you here to harm her? Because if you are then I'll kill you right here!"

"My business doesn't concern you, but I swear I will kill you if you meddle in my affairs."

"Wait! What do you mean she 'brought' you here?"

That's when I took my leave. It was hard to evade that damn meister but I eventually done so with a decent amount of grace and silence. Not that long later I arrived at Zephyr's place where Richie explained the situation to him. He was upset therefore explained things quick before he begged Zephyr to come up with a solution seeing as I really wasn't willing to ask that creep for anything let alone help.

"The first thing you need to do Artie is get those wounds looked at."

"Fine."

"Great! Let's start with your-"

"Head." I interjected sharply. "You're just looking at my head."

"That's what I was going to say."

"Sure you were." I heard Richie mutter from his place on the floor behind Zephyr.

I snickered silently agreeing with him.

"Shut it, Richie!" Zephyr snapped looking all flustered and annoyed. I smiled a bit at that. It was nice to have a little humor around when you're in pain and I was certainly in lots of pain! So once Zephyr was finished bandaging my head I took some ointment, bandages, and Richie and headed back for our place where I finished taking care of myself and making sure that Richie knew what story we were sticking with about my head injury. He did so we both went to bed then.

* * *

"Hey, Artemis! Oh, what happened to your head?"

"It was the craziest thing." I started with my lie. "I was heading up some stairs to get to my apartment when Richie-"

"I ran down the stairs and knocked her backwards!"

"Ouch. I hope you'll be okay. The academy might need you tonight."

"Oh? What happens tonight?"

"We're having a stakeout for a witch. Only a select few will be out tonight, but the more of the us the better our chances are of finding her, don't you think?"

"Definitely. So who'll be going?"

"Well, me and Soul will be going, of course. I suppose Black*Star and Tsubaki will also join in on the hunt. And then Kilik, Fire, and Thunder will also be out on the streets looking around for her. Kid said that he, Liz, and Patty are going to monitor the school grounds. And then Ox and Harvar said that they'd keep close to Kilik in case things get out of hand."

"So...that's it?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"No offense but I'd think there would be more people joining in."

"Well, not many students were interested after learning that this witch is more of a nuisance than an actual threat. I mean, Crona and Ragnarok said that they still wanted to help out as well after I told them that, but I'm still trying to talk them out of it."

"No!"

"Huh?"

"I-I mean, why do that? She's competent enough to handle herself, right?"

"Yes, but this witch said something that was...unsettling...and I don't want to put Crona's life at risk. Besides, I think that ten of us will be enough to catch one witch, don't you think?"

_Fourteen would be better. _I silently sulked, but outwardly responded with a confused expression. "What could she have said that would scare you, of all people?"

"I'm not as scared as much as I am confused." She confessed. "I mean, she wasn't extraordinarily powerful but she was strong enough to beat the hell out of my cat an-"

"Your cat?"

"That's right. Her name is Blair and she's a very powerful, magic cat."

"Oh."

"At any rate, we can't mess around when dealing with this witch, whoever she is."

"Sounds a little too intense for me. Seriously. I think I'll just rest up."

"Okay. I hope you get to feeling better soon."

"Thanks." I said to her out loud and walked away thinking dark thoughts of betrayal. _Thanks a lot, Maka. You're a very helpful friend. _Glancing over my shoulder I gave a weak smile. "Good luck on your hunt tonight!"

_You'll sure need it._


	21. A Night of Fights, The Witch is Revealed

Standing up tall beneath the ivory moonlight I stared down at the dark skinned trio as they walked the streets. The two small children looked nervous, as they clasped hands and walked side-by-side with their meister leading them in their patrol.

Smiling with devious intent I then made my way into the nearest alley, acting as silent as a mouse. I then purposefully kicked a garbage can over causing a few rats to scurry out with loud shrieks of terror. They crossed the trio's path scaring the weapons so much that they tried to make a mad dash in the opposite direction but where caught and comforted by their meister.

"Don't worry. It's okay," he assured them, "everything is okay. It was most likely just a stray cat hunting. If it makes you feel better then you can change into your weapon forms." Nodding in unison they both transformed into what appeared to be some a pair of some sort of weird gloves, but before their mesiter could slip them onto his hands I rendered him unconscious with a violent blow to the back of his head, using a rusty crowbar that I had found. He hit the ground with a loud crunch registering from some part of him. Something sounded off about it, but I didn't give it too much thought. I left him in a bleeding heap on the ground and the last I saw of the two small children they were crying over his limp form.

Their tears left me unphased. How many times before had I and my sister huddled together in the dark at their age and cried ourselves to sleep? Too many. My heart was stone and my blood was ice leaving me feeling apathetic at the pitiful sight.

I then moved onto the next closest target. An ugly looking bald guy holding some sort of spear with what I guessed was supposed to be his hair as a pair of horns. He looked like some geek freak experiment gone horribly wrong. I was about to do exactly as I had with the dark skinned meister but then I noticed something I hadn't noticed before. He was carrying a walkie-talkie. It was only moments into noticing this that the guy tried talking to someone. The walkie-talkie explained the crunch noise I heard when I clubbed the first guy. It also explained why this meister began to appear so frustrated when nobody responded to what he said.

"Kilik? Kilik, answer me!"

"Guys?" I heard Maka's voice call over the device. "Hey, is everything alright?"

"I don't know. Kilik won't answer from his end."

"You'd better go check it out. Soul and me will be over there in a second."

"No, it's probably nothing. You just stay-"

Blood then gushed from the guy's head and he crumbled to the ground. I gasped in shock, seeing as I was still standing where I was and no longer had the crowbar, nor Richie. I had traded him back earlier for Murena. I watched in utter shock as Zephyr, who was dressed up in a black suit with baggy jeans and some nice looking black boots, raised Richie and bashed the guy's head a second time when he tried getting up.

Before he could try a third the guy's weapon changed and attacked. Zephyr sidestepped the attack with an astonishing burst of speed just in the nick of time, though I saw a small cut in the shoulder of his suit. He scowled and looked up when he barely managed to dodge the second violent attacked directed at his head that time. For a split second our eyes met and my world went upside down. He gave me a nod signaling he would take care of things there while I did what I had to do.

Giving him an uncertain glance I left him and Richie to fight off the weapon on their own.

* * *

I felt lucky to have avoided Maka and Soul as I moved away from the scene where I had left Zephyr and Richie, though I would have loved to kill the ash blonde girl and her albino freak of a weapon.

Instead, I concentrated on finding Crona wherever she might have been. I knew it wasn't likely for her to have hung around the school so I stuck to looking around the city. After two and a half hours I started to get impatient so I went back to check back with Zephyr, silently hoping that he had not let himself get killed.

I found that while he was still alive, Zephyr was far from being okay. It looked like he had pummeled the crap out of the weapon that had attacked him, leaving him on the ground in a growing puddle of blood. But now he was face-to-face with Maka who had him on his toes as they exchanged blows, dodging each others' attacks, and keeping a quick pace going as their fight went on. Zephyr was pretty bloody, appearing to have various cuts and some stab wounds.

It looked like he was giving it his all without using magic, which puzzled me because any other time I had seen him fight he had used magic and was very adamant about doing anything different.

"Hey!" I called. The battle paused, both parties standing a safe distance from each other. "Use your magic birdbrain!" I shouted to Zephyr. I then leapt down to stand at his side. He glared at me with a scowl of disdain crossing his features.

"Then you wouldn't mind holding this?" He handed Richie to me then and clapped his hands together uttering a chant so quiet that I couldn't hear him clearly, but dark blue lines appeared on his skin, shining brightly the lines all gave a bright flash of blue and then vanished. I wasn't as surprised as Maka was to see Zephyr healed of his injures, though I knew his healing was limited and the serious injuries such as the deep stab wounds inflicted upon him were only healed enough to stop bleeding. Licking some blood from his lower lip he gave me a smirk.

"Okay, Artie, you better get Richie out of here. Things are going to get messy."

"No way am I missing this fight."

_"Yeah! You're crazy if you think I'm going anywhere!"_

"Richie agrees with me. We're staying and watching."

Rolling his eyes Zephyr gave an annoyed sigh. "Fine, but you better stay out of my way!" He snapped. I nodded with a restrained giggle as I turned and flew up to a nearby roof.

I guess Maka didn't like that I was leaving the fray because she rushed forwards then. "Not so fast, witch!" She swung at me but was stopped when Zephyr grabbed her by her pigtails from behind, yanking her back while a sadistic smile formed itself and a crazed glint flickered within his eyes.

"Hey, you aren't finished with me just yet, so why not get your face better acquainted with the concrete!"

Jerking back he sent her sailing down face first into the ground where a slight indention was made. He landed close by chuckling, but she was up pretty quick. Despite a few cuts and some blood at the corner of her mouth Maka didn't look too badly hurt. She slashed at him, but he dodged and then leapt forwards landing a powerful blow to the center of her chest that sent her reeling backwards with a faint cry of shock and pain. He then ran at her ready to strike a blow. Still, she stood her ground and continued to try and cut him but he dodged like it was no big deal, actually smiling at her failed attempts. There seemed to be something odd about the way he dodged but I couldn't pin what it was that caught my eye exactly.

_"Is he seriously dancing?!" _Richie then exclaimed after a second of me trying to figure out what Zephyr was doing exactly that was so strange. _"He's getting way too confident...that's not good..."_

"What do you expect? In case you didn't notice eight or nine years earlier, Richie, your brother is an idiot!"

Laughing drew my attention back to the scene below. He taunted her by smacking the side of her face once, though she managed to hit him in his gut with the hard, blunt end of her scythe.

Zephyr stumbled backwards a bit, though he caught his footing just in time to strike out at Maka who dodged the blow, taking a few steps back. She seemed to grow frustrated, but then with agile swiftness actually managed to cut across his chest ripping his suit beyond repair and leaving a shallow, yet still fairly bloody gash. He growled and after giving it a glance let out a shaky sigh, enraged that she'd managed to actually get him that time.

"Okay, let's get serious."

Maka gave a cry of surprise when I then tossed Richie down to Zephyr with lightening speed. He swung at her but she got out of the way just in time, blocking the blow with her weapon. I smirked as I joined in, attacking Maka from behind while she focused on Zephyr. I kicked her in the center of her back sending her sailing forwards and close enough to Zephyr that he was able to land a particularly blow to her stomach. Everything then seemed to work in slow motion as Maka was sent back with wide, dark green eyes and bloody saliva came from her mouth due to the force of the attack on her stomach, and then she flew backwards far enough that she collided with a building, actually going through the wall!

"Well, she's finished." Zephyr said with a gleam of pride. "Wanna get out of here before someone else shows up? I seriously need to get these wounds stitched up."

"Nah, you can go ahead. I've still got some unfinished business to attend to."

Shrugging he turned his Soul Protect on and left, appearing a little annoyed when I failed to thank him for what he did, though internally I was somewhat grateful that he decided to help out even after he said earlier that he wouldn't get involved. Once he was gone I began to look around for a broken walkie-talkie, but failed to find one and became worried, so I looked around the area harder.

* * *

What I didn't know was that within the building where Maka lay critically wounded with her weapon kneeling by her side trying to make sure she was still conscious, though she could only utter a few near silent, weak sounding words. "Dammit," he swore quietly, grabbing the walkie-talkie that was cracked and dusty but still in one piece at Maka's waist. "Yo, can anyone hear me?"

"Soul?" Kid's voice sounded a minute after he spoke. "Soul, what's happening over there? I thought I saw an explosion."

"What's going on?" Soul heard Liz's voice in the background.

"Where's Maka?" Another familiar voice asked.

"She's down." He said giving a glance to the hole in the side of the building and looked around to find that he was within a gutted building that was utterly hollow and empty. "I repeat, she's down and so are Ox and Harvar. I don't know if they're dead, but they looked pretty busted up and Maka's in a worse condition."

"The witch is there?"

"There are two of them."

"Two?"

"I'm on my way!"

"That's right." Soul replied to Kid, and then said to the second contact, "And you'd best hurry. I'm the only one that seems alive here, but without Maka I don't think there is much I can do against these guys." There was no reply and Soul found himself waiting silently hoping help would arrive soon because if it didn't he didn't think his meister would survive the night.

* * *

Getting frustrated I decided to make sure Maka was dead because I realized a little too late that she was probably the only person who knew of my sister's current whereabouts. I was surprised when I heard a weak groan come from beyond the hole in the wall and rubble. I felt so certain that, that should have killed her instantly, but I wasn't about to question anything and chance her dying on me before I learned anything so I moved quick to her side, though I was a little quicker than I should have been.

The next thing I knew her weapon came at me and nearly took my head off! He'd partially transformed one of his arms into a curved blade that almost got me, but I managed to dodge and land a kick to the side of his face, knocking him backwards. He caught his balance and went for my head again. He took my hat off causing my face to no longer be shadowed and causing his eyes to widen in realization at whom he was fighting.


	22. Face to Face! Maka Dies?

Gritting his shark-like teeth he charged at me with a renewed fury at the betrayal I had dealt not only him, but Maka as well. I leapt into the air and landed a kick to the center of his face when he paused and burst into a nosebleed at getting a gander beneath my skirt. He flew backwards and landed on a large piece of broken concrete. Blood gushed from his head as it busted open and he fell into a stunned, semi-conscious state. I pulled Maka up, holding her an inch off the ground, while she tried a single weak attempt to push me away. I smirked knowing that I had the upper hand.

"Where is Crona?" I demanded with ice in my veins. "I know she came out here with you, so where is she?!"

"W-why...why a-are y-you..." She choked the weak phrased question out, and then squeaked out her intended sentence with a whirlwind of emotion welling up in her dark green hues. "Why are you doing this?"

"You're the one who started this!" I growled, turning and throwing her through the hole in the wall behind me. I watched with an infuriated inferno flaming deep inside my chest. Tears of rage formed in my eyes and a smile formed over my face, probably looking crazy but I didn't care. "This is all because of you and all these other damned meisters! I just wanted to protect my sister, but you all took her away from me!"

She sat up from where she had laid in the streets. She was shaking all over and appearing utterly stunned. The look in her wide, green eyes was priceless while her face paled drastically in horror. "Cr-Crona...is your sister?!"

"Don't play dumb with me!" I partially screamed, partially laughed in spite. "I've been working far too long to let you keep the truth from me, so answer my damn f****ing question! Where is my sister?"

"I-I swear I-I'm not!" She sputtered. I could tell from the look in her eyes that she thought I was crazy, but what did I care? I lifted her up by her pigtails causing her to scream, but she still persisted with her lies even when we were face-to-face. "I-I don't know wh-why y-you think sh-she's your sis-sister, but sh-she isn't! Th-the academy d-didn't ki-kidnap her, o-or anyone! She joined of her own free will after we saved her from-" I gave a cry of pain then cutting her off as something buried itself in my back.

"Maka!" I glanced over my shoulder expecting to see some other idiot friend of Maka's but instead my eyes grew wide at the sight of a vaguely familiar face that was different from years of growth and change. "Put Maka down!" Crona demanded, holding Ragnarok in sword form ready to strike.

The first thing I noticed was that she had grown considerably. She was probably a full inch shorter than me, but she stood up straight, instead of hunched over like she used to. She'd certainly gained some confidence in the past few years. I could see she'd also gained a fiery spirit from the look that glowed within the depths of her dark eyes like some sort of deadly bonfire that spread around until it consumed everything in its path.

"Cr-Crona," Maka croaked, "g-get...get o-out...get out of here!"

"Shut up!" I growled, throwing her into the nearest building and watching as she left cracks where her body had hit. She then crumpled to the ground in a silent, broken heap. Crona was utterly enraged over this, charging me with full force and swinging Ragnarok with such speed that I couldn't move in time before she cut into my cheek leaving a long, bloody line that made me hiss and grimace in agony upon receiving it. I got out of the way and watched with bitter envy as she ran over to the ash blonde meister's side and started to speak with her in an attempt to bring her back to consciousness.

"Maka! Maka, are you okay? Maka, please be okay. Wake up! Wake up! Please, wake up!"

"It's no use." I said scowling. "She's dead."

"No, shut up!" She shouted at me, surprising me with the harshness in her voice. "P-please, Maka, wake up!" She shook Maka's limp body and gave a sound that was a cross between a sob and a whimper as she buried her face in the limp girl's ash blond hair. I huffed and gave the dead girl a glare, hating her more than I had before. After a few minutes Crona laid her body down and stood, turning to me and making me take a step back.

There was a high level of emotion displayed in Crona's eyes. I couldn't fully comprehend all the emotion I saw in her. It was as though she'd lost something important. It seemed to end as quickly as it had appeared and she just stood numbed beside the girl's corpse. And then when I dared to take a step forward I recognized the emotion taking over then. The look of madness was clear as day and so was the fiery rage that I, myself, had felt many times before. Her grip around Ragnarok increased and she moved forwards at once with a powerful burst of speed.

Gasping in surprise I barely had time to bring up a lavender shield of magical energy that kept me safe from the blow for about five seconds before shattering. I was truly surprised. It should have been strong enough to withstand a blow but then I realized that while I grew stronger, so had Crona and the fact things were not going according to plan anymore meant bad news for me, especially since she was pissed at me for killing Maka.

She lashed out mercilessly with her sword, anger building while the madness crumbled and she ran on pure malice. I tried to figure out a way to defeat her while I avoided dying during the battle. I eventually decided to try something risky, but if it worked then I figured it'd be worth it. And if not...well...I would be dead.

I waited 'til the last second when she was about to cut me, and then I grabbed her throat and sent a strong pulse throughout her and I watched as she fell backwards with a cry. Ragnarok vanished from sword form and she gave a quiet groan, sitting up and looking at me with frightened eyes, seeming so pitiful and helpless. I hated seeing that look. It brought back...unpleasant memories. And then something occurred to me and it made my heart ache faintly.

"You don't remember me...do you?"

"How can I remember you when I don't even know you?"

I kept my distance from her, somewhat hurt that I remembered her, but she didn't remember me. "How can you say that?" I knew I was pouting then and became frustrated with myself. I moved close to her, ignoring how freaked out she seemed. She gave a cry when I pinned her against a wall but I still ignored her.

"I am Artemis Gorgon. And I am your big sister."

"Nuh-uh! Your crazy! I don't have a sister!"

"Yes," I persisted, "you do. I don't know what these guys have done to your brain, but I swear to you that I'm telling the truth."

She studied for a moment, and then hysteria started to creep into her voice, "I believe you're Lady Medusa's daughter. You have the same eyes...the same look...have you come to kill me?"

"What?" I blinked at that, having been caught off guard. "No! I'm not here to hurt anyone." I then realized I couldn't make that statement seeing as I had already bashed up her friends and it was far too late to take it all back so I just changed my words. "I mean I originally came here to rescue you! I didn't want to hurt anyone. And how is it you can remember our bitch mother but you can't remember me?"

"Lady Medusa raised me...she was...horrible..."

"Yeah, well, I-" my eyes widened as I realized what didn't sound right in my sister's mutterings and my attention became sharp once more and horror gradually gripped onto my voice that became a whisper, "I killed her...what do you mean she 'raised' you? I killed her..."

"N-no." Crona replied carefully. There was no trust in her eyes, though she didn't seem too aggressive or fearful anymore. She seemed to silently be sizing me up, most likely because she wanted to try to make an attempt at escape. Or possibly try to go for the kill while my guard was down.

"She isn't dead. I don't know where she is, but she's not dead. I-I saw her just a few months ago."

If Crona had been turning hysteric before then I was in absolute shock. "That's...that's not possible!" I choked out in a single loud screech that bounced off the church walls. "I killed her! I know I did!" Sobs started to tear themselves from deep within my chest, as I suddenly realized what must have happened.

The old hag of a witch must have watched me at all times through her snakes, even when I suspected I was all alone. She must have struggled to make a quick-working antidote for the poison and that was why she never had time outside her lab, because I gave her a diversion to think and work on. And after the fight we had just before all this mess began, while I was unconscious she must have given herself the antidote and ran back to our old place.

"She must have taken you...destroyed everything...then that means..." I gave a growl, cursing savagely, and then fell to my knees and started to violently batter the floor with my fists. "I hate that f***ing witch! I hate her, I hate her," I screamed from the top of my lungs, ignoring how sore my throat felt, "I _hate _her! That stupid, evil, manipulative bitch!"

Sobbing I felt more and more like a drowning victim with each second. How could I have been so stupid? Everything that had happened, every-freaking-thing leading up to that moment was for absolutely nothing. I had hundreds upon hundreds of years to live if I wasn't killed off in some fight or whatever, so the time wasn't what mattered to me, but the principal and fact of the matter was that I allowed myself to get played like a puppet by my mother, who was obviously harder to kill than what I had originally anticipated, who lived to torment and utilize my sister like some weapon of mass destruction.

"I can't freaking deal with all of this. Kill me. Just please kill me."


	23. Making Peace, Sisters at Last?

Staring in shock at this request my pink-haired sibling seemed to debate that to herself, though I'm sure that her weapon was cheering her on, pushing her to cut me to pieces because he was a total bastard who seemed to hate my guts long ago. I doubt that had changed with the years like aspects of Crona had.

A strange look came over her after a second and I supposed that maybe she decided to avenge her friend. Sighing I waited for the deathblow, but instead I gasped at feeling her arms gently encircle me. "What the hell are you doing?" I yelped. Crona seemed a little reluctant in continuing the awkward embrace.

"I remember..." She whispered in my ear while she pulled me a bit closer and I could feel tears dripping down her face. "We were locked in a dark room together and you made me feel better. You were stronger than me and never gave up. But then you left me...you left me...with _her_..."

"I swear, I promise, Crona, that I didn't want to leave you with her. I thought I'd killed her. I thought her enemies had kidnapped you. I've been running around like a headless fool for no reason and I'm so sorry for all this trouble. Everyone's been right about this. I'm stupid. I'm _so_ stupid. But I didn't...I didn't want to...forget about you."

"It's alright. I'm a little glad someone cared about me before I came here."

"Why are you doing this?"

"Maka saved me. Maybe, I think I can save you."

"Even after I killed your friend?"

"You didn't kill Maka."

"What?"

"If you think you killed Lady Medusa, but didn't then what luck would you have killing Maka?"

She had a damn good point. Laughing dryly I sobbed some more. The moment was peaceful. All was serene and perfect until the doors to the damaged church swung open filling the dimly lit space surrounding us with light from the moon outside. I gave a low groan of annoyance as I watched a familiar looking guy step through the doorway. Crona's embrace loosened and then tightened until it felt like she was trying to crush all the air from my lungs.

"Crona? What are you doing here? And with her?"

"P-Professor Stein..." She whimpered quietly, and then whispered to me urgently, "Artemis, you have to run."

"No way."

"No, don't-"

"Shut up." I muttered to her. "I know what I'm doing."

Ten minutes later I was lying on the ground outside with blood running down my face and pooling beneath my sore, aching body. I heard Crona and Stein arguing for a couple of minutes. Then they stopped and had a nice, little chat. It lasted for several minutes since Stein had stopped arguing and let Crona explain the situation. He gave an annoyed sigh and chuckled, letting a creepy smile spread over his face.

"You should have said that a few minutes beforehand. Then again, she did have that beating coming for just about killing my students, _your_ peers."

"I understand, Professor, but she's not dangerous anymore."

"As far as you know, anyway. We'll have to let Lord Death decide that, okay?"

"Okay, fine." She said with a weak smile. It seemed she had more confidence in me than I had in myself, which was rather surprising seeing as I had hurt just about all of her little friends and had caused her so much trouble. "Could you watch over her for a minute? I need to go get something." Stein shrugged and Crona ran off, whilst I lay helpless and contemplated trying to summon a damn astral beast to kick Stein's ass for me, since I couldn't move. In the end, I was there for over an hour until Crona got back with a rather cheerful smile.

"Maka's going to be okay!" she announced happily. "And she said she understood everything. And let me buy some flowers, see?"

"Yeah. That's great. Nice flowers, Crona."

Okay, even I heard the vague outline of disappointment in his voice after hearing that Maka was going to be okay, but Crona acted as though it weren't even there. She sat beside me and started to pick the petals off the flowers and drop them all over me. "I think the colors are better separated." She said quietly in the brightest tone I've ever heard come from her in all my life. "They go nice with your hair. Aren't the colors pretty?"

"Yeah." I muttered with false enthusiasm "They're great. Uh, but could I ask you for a favor?"

"Hmm? What?"

"Come closer."

She leaned down.

"Closer."

She was face-to-face with me, inches away from me.

"COULD YOU STOP THE EVER LOVING F***ING BLEEDING BEFORE I DIE?!"

She jumped back appeared rather alarmed and frightened. I saw hurt in her eyes and felt a bit guilty, but not for long considering that I _was _still, technically, dying a rather slow and painful death. She asked Stein to help me out but he instead gave her a needle with some thread and told her to have at it. Apparently he wasn't allowed to aid enemies until they were proven to be allies, so I figured that the universe wanted me dead for giving the task of saving me to someone as inexperienced as Crona.

"Umm, I'm not sure how to do this, so you'll have to be very still."

"Nah, I was thinking of dancing." I said with a thick coating of sarcasm and some irritation. "You know, that's a very wise choice when you're _bleeding _to death."

"Could you tell me how to do this?" She asked Stein, who nodded and started to explain how to stitch someone up. She seemed more than a little nervous about it after he finished with his explanation. "Thanks." she mumbled, shaking all over and raising the needle to thread it, which just made me even more pissed. Why didn't she thread it when she got it? Or was my demise not that big of a deal?

"Oh, dammit," Stein snapped in annoyance after several pitiful, failed attempts of her trying to thread the stupid needle, "just give it to me and I'll do it!"

"No," Crona argued, "I can do it!"

"Then, please," I snapped at her, "for the love of Shinigami hurry up!"

I watched her wince at my snappish tone but the fact I was slowly dying made whatever remorse I felt melt away rather quickly. She sighed quietly, and then went back to her attempts at threading the damn needle that seemed rather fruitless. Five minutes later we were fighting over the thread and needle until Stein took it from Crona and finally done the job himself, swearing in annoyance the entire time. Unsurprisingly, it hurt like hell and wasn't even the beginning of my troubles.

I learned this soon after some other guys showed up to arrest me.


	24. Heartbreak & Exile

Surprise! It's an update!

X)

I was thinking on how to continue then supposed that adding some drama would help. I wasn't quite sure how to do this and not ruin the entire idea I have for the story but I think I pulled it off! Let me know what you think at the end, plz. And sorry this chapter is so short. I have bigger plans for the next chapter so don't freak and think I'm running out of ideas for future chapter. Though you can make suggestions of things you would like to happen and I'll see if I could make it work, kay?

Thanks, Fairylust out!

* * *

I sat in darkness for a long time until the door to my cell opened. I grimaced when I saw Spirit, who was apparently the father to Maka Albarn, unlocking my cell through the small, rectangular barred window that was on the door. "Follow me and don't you dare try anything." He said in a tone that left no doubt in my mind that he was pissed at me. I would be lying if I claimed to not have been totally scared. I wasn't stupid and could sense that this guy meant business. I silently followed the redhead through the corridors of the academy until we ended up in what apparently was the Death Room.

I glared at the masked figure of Death, hesitating in my footsteps. I saw Stein stand next to him, his expression hard to read with the glare off his glasses, but I was totally caught by surprise when I noticed Crona standing next to Death as well and oddly enough I also noticed a small, round table that had tea on it and a blonde haired lady sitting there with some other lady who wore lots of bandages and her dark hair up in a ponytail. I quirked an eyebrow wondering just where the hell I had ended up.

"Why did you bring me here?" I demanded even if I knew I was in no position to be demanding anything. "Just what the hell is going on here, Shinigami?"

"Well, Crona, it seems you forgot to mention how rude this witch is!" The redhead spat with a scowl, glaring at me. "Could we save time and just let Stein have her?"

"It'd certainly be easier." Stein agreed.

"Oh, c'mon, you guys!" The blonde haired woman said with an encouraging smile. "Why not give her a chance?"

"Well, I know two good reasons."

"Sh-she's not that bad." Crona said, speaking up for once. I scowled deeply, taking a nervous step back when I realized that Crona appeared less than confident in those words. I then realized the chances of me leaving that freaky ass place alive were shrinking dramatically with every second.

"Don't worry, you're not here for punishment, even if you deserve nothing but." Lord Death began sounding rather frightening though I managed to appear unphased. "We're actually going to let you go." He said slowly, keeping me glued to each word and probably enjoying how I let my calm mask slip and shock shown clearly on my face. "On the condition that you leave the city with your accomplices and never return."

"You can't be serious."

"I am _very _serious."

"What about Crona?"

"She's staying here."

"Right." The blonde haired woman said with stern expression. "She's one of us and is perfectly happy here."

"Shut up! What'd you know, whore?!"

"Excuse me?" She practically shrieked. "Whore? I am a tease, if anything!"

"Marie, calm down." Death said firmly. The blonde sat back down, sulked, and whispering with the bandaged woman. "I can see you're concerned for Crona's well-being and as unselfish as that may seem in your mind your actions say something entirely different. You're a very selfish witch for what you've done."

"How dare you call me selfish? I-"

"You hurt Crona and her friends!" The Shinigami snapped. "The best you can possibly do for her now is to leave while we're still not considering using any violent means."

Scowling I prepared to make another comeback, but was then interrupted, "I do not want you here." I was speechless then, upon realizing just who was talking. "I am sorry that you worried over me and that Medusa tricked you, but I am happy here, Artemis. I just want to stay here with my friends. After everything they've done for me and the kindness they've shown me I need to know that they'll be okay after your attack on them."

"Is that right?" I muttered crossly. I was quickly getting flustered and slowly losing my temper with everyone there, especially the sister I had originally came to rescue. "So what? These guys took you in and you're better than me now?"

"What? N-no, I-"

"Screw you! To hell with you and to hell with everyone else in this damned city!"

"No, Artemis, I just think that maybe-"

"Save it!" I hissed with narrowed eyes. " You're just a stuck-up meister like all these other dumb pricks, aren't you? I guess I should've known better than to think _you_ would want anything to do with a witch. But then again, I guess I wanted to think that my own sister would have love for me even if nobody else did." I then scoffed, turning on my heel and heading out, "See you in hell, you little, selfish brat."

I didn't bother looking at any of the livid, bewildered, empty, or upset expressions in the room as I hurried out. I just wanted to get out of there as soon as possible. I felt really embarrassed about everything, especially since Crona hated my guts for all that I had done. In all sincere honesty I wanted to cry, to scream, to _kill _something before I drowned in an ocean of emotional angst and suffering.

My own family (the only family that I _actually _loved) hated me and wanted nothing to do with me as if having an ingenious, bitch mother that wanted me dead wasn't enough.

Sniffling I hurried my way through the city hoping to get out. My tears blurred my vision and my legs trembled too much so I ended up flying on my broom. It was so strange leaving like that, as if everything had been a dream, which dissolved into a nightmare. Luckily, I was leaving and could move on with my own life now that I knew the truth about Crona. She was safe. It was all that really mattered to me in the beginning so at least I could sleep at night knowing she wasn't being tortured or hurt, or anything like that. And besides, I already had plans about where to go to make myself feel better about the entire stupid thing.

I had thought I'd made it when suddenly out of nowhere I was hit full force by a powerful blow that sent me falling with a sharp cry of pain as red beads flew in slow motion before my widened eyes. I hit the hot desert sands and tumbled into a deep hole where I fell to the bottom with a yelp. A deep sob escaped my chest as I sat up and gave an audible grunt. Wincing, I found myself grasping at my right temple. I was sickened to find my palm and a few fingers painted a deep scarlet hue. "What the hell?" I muttered looking up to see a shadowy figure standing above me at the edge of the hole.

"Who the hell are you?"

There was only silence.

"Answer me!"

The only reply I received was in the form of a question, "You're Artemis Nyx, right?"

* * *

Duh, duh, duh! Who is that? What the hell happened to Artemis? Where are Zephyr and Richie? Who shot her down and why? So many questions, right? I'll see about whether or not killing someone off next chapter. Dunno who or if I will but I feel like I might want to. Doubt I will but in case I do decide on it: Suggestions as to who?


	25. Shaula & Change

"You're Artemis Nyx, right? Otherwise known as, Artemis Gorgon? Lamprey Witch?"

I was silent, stunned by this inquiry. Who was this person? How did they know my name? Better question, how did they know my _real_ name? No, how did they know _anything_ about _me_? I gaped at them unable to respond causing them to chuckle. They sounded like a young woman, possibly someone my age or close to it.

"I'll take that as a 'yes'." The stranger continued. "Listen, I have a proposition for you. Are you listening?"

I gathered my wits and gave a quick reply, "Y-yeah."

"Good. You see, I've had my eye on you for some time now and I'm very pleased with how you've turned out. I think that maybe we could form a partnership, interested?"

Squinting my eyes as I stared up I realized that this was an outline of a woman staring down at me. Scowling my answer came easily, "No way, no how, lady. I'm not interested in whatever snake oil you'll try to sell me, but I would like for you to tell me just who the hell are you?"

"If your answer is 'no way', then I suppose I'll just have to dispose of you. Can't have too many Gorgons running around, you know? It's nothing personal, really. It's just business, or rather eliminating any possible future competition. Besides, you might try to steal some of my ideas and experiments if I don't get rid of you."

"To hell with that! To hell with f**king science! I don't give a damn about experiments or ideas, or whatever the hell it is you're up there blabbering on about! I-" That was when I felt something crunch beneath my boot. I looked down and in the dim light I saw a scorpion. It was crushed flat as a pancake underneath my weight. The stinger had been poised and ready to strike at me. A chill ran down my spine as I noticed several more appearing from the darkness.

"Like my scorpions? If not then I insist you reconsider my proposition."

"I-I am," I gulped, now afraid, "but you'd better ex-explain wh-why you want _me _as _your _p-partner?"

"You contain a lot of secrets even if you don't realize it. Besides I suppose your powers would be useful to me."

"Hey, could you, umm, get me out of here?" I shouted up to her then, already knowing that whoever it was talking to me then were a very powerful being and not to be argued with. Besides, there was something familiar about this person that made a sick feeling bubble up in my stomach. Or rather, it was their soul wavelength that bothered me and made that sick feeling rise up inside me. "Get out yourself!" the woman called back.

"How do I-"

"Try flying, genius!"

I bit back a crude come back to her sarcasm, as I prepared to do as told. Sighing in irritation I managed to fly up high enough to reach the very edge of the hole and grab hold with my finger tips. I struggled for a short few minutes before I got a firm hold and pulled myself up, giving a hiss of pain as I finally made it to solid ground. Stumbling to my knees in the sand after I reached safety I found myself staring up at another witch who appeared rather youthful with black locks of hair and dark blue eyes.

"Wh-who are you?"

"Shaula, Shaula Gorgon."

"A-are you...my-"

"Aunt? Of course, but I'm much younger, prettier, and way better than Arachne, and especially Medusa, could ever have hoped to be, seeing as I'm the one who's still alive while their currently maggot chow."

"Doesn't somebody have a big ego?" I mumbled, rolling my eyes, and then wincing a bit in pain. "What a bitch."

"What was that?"

"Oh, nothing!" I lied nervously. "I was just saying how my damn head hurt."

Shaula seemed to buy that. Smiling she extended a friendly hand and gave me a charming smile that I could already tell had some dark intent hidden behind it. "Now," She said so nicely, "dear Artemis, why not be a good girl and follow me so you can get all patched up? It'd be a shame if you died from a concussion, don't you think?"

"Yeah. I guess so."

* * *

So, as it turned out Shaula took me to her secret, evil, yet somewhat fancy lair where she fixed me up. She also wanted to 'upgrade' me or whatever, but I turned down the offer by simply telling her to screw off. It was just too bad that it wasn't really an offer. I had no choice in the matter. That was how I found myself tied down and subjected to some weird (and very painful) experiments.

After it was over I felt the same and was able to escape just like I could beforehand. Nothing seemed different, but something felt wrong at the same time. Ignoring it I headed off to get as far away from that nutty witch as I could while I had the chance. As I ran I didn't feel too different. The cool sand sank beneath my feet, not yet warmed by the laughing sun's rays. Grunting I stumbled once, and then found myself tumbling head over heels down the side of a freaking mountain of sand.

I screamed as I fell.

Sand got in my mouth, up my nose; all over my head; in my hair and clothes; and it even got in my damn eyes so that there was a sharp, burning sensation that made them water. It felt like hours of falling, tumbling, rolling, and skidding through the golden sands but I knew that logically it couldn't have been more than a couple of minutes.

Huffing and puffing, I sat up rubbing at my eyes and sobbing as the burning continued and I tried to spit the gritty sand from my mouth with little success. Coughing and struggling for breath I felt myself freeze, breath held, and eyes partially closed when I felt something dry and scaly brush against my wrist.

Swallowing I took a sharp intake of air and looked down to see an effing copperhead staring up at me sticking out its ugly forked tongue. And then I realized just what was wrong with me. I found what Shaula had broken, or perhaps taken away from me. Fear. I knew I should have been afraid of the dangerous creature next to me, yet I wasn't. I had no feeling of dread or terror whatsoever. I didn't feel the need to run or get away from the creature.

I merely felt...nothing...

It was like I was hollow and already dead _inside_. I might have died there if my anger had not reared its own ugly head, more intense and lethal than usual. I moved as quick as a flash of lightening, grabbing the wicked creature and tearing it in half before it could strike or even move. Blood stained the sands and I gave a feral cry of rage ignoring the death coils it underwent before me while I turned my back and began to run.

The distance seemed to take forever and I felt odd, as though I were fading from my body and something more sinister was taking hold. This didn't become apparent, however, until I stumbled on a large rock and fell, striking my head on a smaller rock nearby. Blood poured down my face and my vision was reddened, more pain flooded my being only to dull within seconds as my rage intensified.

_Do it_, someone whispered to me, _you must do it_. It sounded like a familiar voice. A voice from my past that I had once known, but no longer recongized as being real. "She's dead." I mumbled to myself without purposely intending to. "She's dead. She's dead. She's so f***ing dead."

_No_, the voice argued. _No, I'm not! You know I'm not!_

"Yes," I whispered, "you are."

_No, Artemis,_ the voice replied gently, _I'm not dead. How could you think that? I've always been alive!_

"No. Not since-"

_How can the dead speak? _The voice asked. _Don't you know? Once defeated they can never come back. Remember?_

"I remember."

Sweet laughter came to me then. It pissed me off. I hadn't heard it in such a long time. I groaned trying to ignore that damn laughing, that damn voice that had awakened within my head.

_Artemis..._

It was like a siren whispering in my ear.

_Artemis..._

So sweet and innocent.

_Artemis..._

And I could not resist to do its bidding.

"Crona."

Quiet, childish laughter came back in reply to that single, mumbled word.

"Crona." I mumbled the name once again, as her voice echoed in my mind like some sucky song. I felt dazed. It was as though I were floating in some black void. It was like a blank dreamworld where no harm could befall me no matter what happened to the world around me. All that I had to do was just lie in the middle of nowhere. The voice seemed to draw me further and further from my physical self, and yet I didn't care as the childhood voice spoke to me some more. It wasn't real. I knew in some corner of my mind that her voice wasn't really talking to me, but I shoved that out of my head and listened anyway.

_Please, Artemis," her voice begged cutely, "please would you do it?_

"Do what?" I whispered.

_Play a game with me. Please?_

"Yeah. Sure. What game?"

If there were a face to the disembodied voice I'm certain I could have seen a dark smile slip onto the face of the child-like version of my younger sister. There might have been a dark glint in her eyes as well because the voice lowered to a chilling whisper and the words shook me to hear, and yet I heard them clearly and was prepared with an answer that seemed automatic even if my mind knew it wasn't the answer that I wanted to speak.

_The killing game._

"Yeah," I mumbled lightheartedly, "okay. Let's play."

I could almost see a dark smile on a little Crona's face.

* * *

**Here we go! I finally got this updated and am so glad! I took some ideas into consideration and like how this turned out. I like the ideas that are helping in the development of this story. At any rate, there should be another update by tomorrow. See ya then!**


	26. Black Out & Plans

I stared at Death City from the place I stood on a hill of sand. Anger rushing throughout me and fear nonexsistant I saw no reason why not to enter the great city. Death. That was a reason. Emphasis on the word 'was'. I didn't fear death, or anything for that matter. I barely felt anything other than rage and even that seemed numb. My soul felt as though it were being imprisoned by some beast that wished control of my body. It would have terrified me if I had any sense of fear, but I didn't so I became even angrier than before. Charging forwards I felt strangely odd, as though all sense of reality was leaving me.

And that was the last I remembered before fading off into a thick redness that was edged by darkness.

* * *

Groaning, I started to wake up hearing some distant sounding voices. They were arguing and sounding somewhat wary. My eyes opened for a moment then squeezed shut against the bright light, which filled them. "Huh?" I groaned, probably sounding rather irritable. "Uh...where am I? Who's there?"

"Relax, Artie, it's just us."

Sitting up I opened my eyes for a second time. This time fully prepared for the sunlight that sure enough burned my eyes again, but that was okay because I could take it. I found myself, none too surprisingly, lying in the middle of nowhere in a desert. I sighed seeing both Richie and Zephyr standing a scant two feet from me. Immediately, I was puzzled by each of their expressions. Richie looked somewhat frightened, nervous, and confused as he stood behind his older brother who looked at me with a grave scowl.

"What the hell are you two pests doing here?"

"Now isn't the time for games, Artie." Zephyr snapped. "You've gotten us all in a load of trouble! The damn reaper has his people scanning this entire god forsaken desert for not just you, but for all of us! Me and Richie didn't even do anything, save for help you when you were about to get your ass killed!"

"What the f*** are you yelling at me for?"

"You were the one who went and got the entire city in a buzz!"

"I didn't do anything!" I spat defensively. My voice softened then as I recalled Death's words, 'You hurt Crona and her friends!' that reminded me that I really did do some pretty bad things. And Zephyr knew as well as I did that I _had _done some pretty bad things in Death City. "I mean," my voice was a murmur as I spoke, "I did but the Shinigami, Death, he excused me for those crimes and said that as long as I didn't go back-"

"Don't play stupid!" Zephyr hissed. "You've got blood on your hands now and those damned bastards from the city aren't gonna let any of us get away now, you dumb bitch!"

I snarled, climbing to my feet. "What did you just call me?"

"You heard me, dumb bitch!"

"I outta tear your motherf***ing tongue out of your mouth!" I shouted. "No, I should freakin beat the living hell out of you, you moronic piece of garbage! You've always been nothing but a waste of perfectly good breathing space!"

"Look who's talking!" he shouted back at me. "You couldn't find your f***ing sister without my help! Hell, you couldn't even escape back there when things got too intense! Me and Richie had to save your sorry ass before the meisters got to you!"

We stood there practically nose to nose. He glared at me and I glared right back. Zephyr was really pissing me off and I wanted nothing more than to tear him to millions of little, tiny pieces. He was a bastard. I hated him and wanted nothing more than to be the cause of his demise then and there. Perhaps, if Richie hadn't spoken up, then I would have been.

"Guys," Richie chimed in, "I think we have bigger problems than who is worse than who and whose fault what is. We're getting hunted like rabbits and unless we do something about it then I think we won't last long out here. Especially if the meisters come after and start tracking us down."

"You're right, Richie." I sighed, feeling my rage dying down a bit. "We need a plan."

"Yeah," Zephyr snorted, "and what do you propose we do?"

"We can't very well stand around here all day." I said.

"No duh!" he sneered sardonically. "But we can't run, either."

"Hey, hey," Richie cried coming between us. He spread his arms out and stood protectively in front of Zephyr. "Don't start fighting again, guys! We have to stick together or else we won't stand a chance. I think we just need to figure out a way to fix this before someone gets hurt."

"No way, Rich." Zephyr sighed. He shook his head, hands falling from his hips and to his sides. "After all the blood Artie spilled yesterday I doubt they'll want to hear us out, especially since two out of us three are witches."

"Blood?" I chirped in surprise. My eyes narrowed at Zephyr warily. "What are you talking about?"

"Oh, c'mon, Artie just look at yourself! You're covered in blood from that wicked rampage you went on yesterday evening."

"No, I-" My voice died away as I looked down at myself for the first time. I gaped in shock at realizing my clothes were torn and bloody. Dried blood clings to my skin and suddenly I felt my mouth turn dry. Was it my blood? Why wasn't I afraid? Why did I feel so numb? I wanted to panic and scream my lungs out, but the problem was that I couldn't. I just couldn't. I felt hollow inside and I desperately wished I knew just what was going on. Without realizing it my voice became tiny and quiet, as my thoughts jumped from my brain to the tip of my tongue and swiftly escaped the confinement of my mouth, "What did I do?"

"You mean...you...you seriously don't remember?" Zephyr sputtered. His features took on a combination of suspicion and disbelief instantly. "Artie, what's going on? You were totally berserk yesterday. How can you not remember that?"

"I don't know."

"You're sounding rather calm about now. Something tells me you do know. What happened to you?"

"I...I can't...remember." I struggled with the words as I tried hard to recall what had became of me after fleeing the city. What'd happened? And two seconds later it hit me like a brick. "Shaula."

"What is that?" Zephyr demanded.

"I think you mean who is that?" Richie corrected. Ignoring him, Zephyr pushed him off to the side and walked up to me with a serious expression that didn't seem to belong on his face. I decided then that I liked him better when he appeared carefree and smug. It suited him better than the intensity he held then as he studied me silently, and then asked, "You want to talk about it?"

I sighed. "Why not?" I said, as I began to walk in a random direction. The two brothers followed sticking to either side of me. I continued as we walked, "My life officially sucks now. Telling you guys how I screwed myself over can't beat all the other sucky stuff that's going on right now."

I explained to them what happened starting from when I finally met Crona up to when I had to make a run for my life after meeting my aunt, Shaula. They both listened. I was actually impressed by how well they both listened to me, especially Zephyr who didn't normally give a damn about whatever I said.

Then again, I usually insulted him so it made sense that he'd tune me out every now and again. Once I finished my story they stopped walking. That took longer than I thought it would, which was okay considering we didn't have much else to do at the time. Richie sat cross legged seeming to be in deep thought. Zephyr flopped back, sprawling out on the warm sand and taking a deep breath while he too gave the story some thought. I just sat and hoped that whatever conclusion they came up with it'd be useful, helpful even. I really wished I knew what happened the afternoon before. Maybe if I did then I'd know just what to do to get us out of the current predicament we were in.

"Artie," I turned to see Zephyr was sitting upright with his legs crossed like Richie's were. I just jugged my legs to my chest as I stared at him with blank eyes.

"Yeah?"

"You're family is really screwed up."

I laughed awkwardly at that.

"No, seriously." He said in a thoughtful tone. "We should find that bitch and make her reverse whatever it is she did to you. I think that if we-"

"No, Zephyr," I said firmly, "we've got bigger problems and way bigger fish to fry. We shouldn't waste precious time finding some stupid witch that's probably long gone by now."

"Don't be stupid. What if you snap again? We've no idea what made you lose it yesterday, so what if you lose it today? What if this thing ends up killing you?"

"Then it kills me. Big deal. Lots of people are trying to kill me nowadays anyway."

He gave me a look, which suggested that I was crazy, and then shook his head. I guess he wasn't really wanting to argue because he went over to where Richie sat and they started to whisper to each other, back and forth. It was bothersome because I knew they were talking about me and I hated the fact that they were probably pretending that I wasn't there. Still, whatever they were talking about I figured it was stupid. Finally, they stopped their whispering and came to sit in front of me next to each other. They both looked somber.

"Artemis, we have to fix whatever Shaula did to you. Otherwise, nobody is safe."

"Yeah, well, what do you want me to do about it? It's not my fault. I-"

"I know it's not, but listen Zephyr and me have been thinking and compromising and we think that maybe we can kill two birds with one stone."

"Okay. I'm listening."

"First, we need to find some way to get to Death."

"That'll be a piece of cake." I said sarcastically, rolling my eyes for added effect. "I mean, we're already being hunted by his goons."

"Exactly." Richie agreed, ignoring my sarcasm. "I think one of us should surrender, preferably me seeing as I'm not a witch."

"No way! You could die!"

"That's not likely." Zephyr argued. "Think about it. Why would they kill Richie if he surrenders? He can't fight them off by himself and besides wouldn't they want to question him on our whereabouts?"

"You have a point." I admitted. "I just hate the sound of this plan."

"Listen," Richie continued, "after I get in I can explain everything to him. I can convince him that it wasn't your fault and that Zephyr and me didn't do anything wrong, other than helping you, I mean."

"Splendid. Oh, wait, no it isn't. That entire plan sounds like total bunk! Why would the Shinigami listen to you? And what would the two of us be doing in the meantime?"

"Because I expect him to be able to tell whether or not I'm lying. And believe me, I won't be."

"As for us," Zephyr said, "we get to go kidnap that sweet little sister of yours."

"Swell. How will we explain that?"

"Trade." Richie said sternly. "Me for her, and then we see if they'd be willing to fix you up. If not then we make a run for it and try to plan out another course of action."

"No. I don't like the sound of this."

"You mean you're against the kidnaping part?" Zephyr questioned with a deadpan tone. "You do know this should be really damn easy considering she's nothing to you. She's a traitor an-"

"I don't care!" I snapped. Both boys gave me their complete attention then. Richie's lips were pulled together in a tight line, whilst his brother looked at me with slightly widened eyes.

"Are you sure you're thinking about this clearly?"

"Yes!" I hissed at him, glaring weakly. My teeth gritted as I then let out a small growl and gave Zephyr an utterly serious expression to show how firm my stance was on this matter, as well as how much that plan bothered me. "I just want to leave her alone." I said with a sigh. "I don't ever want to see that...that...whatever's face again!"

"Sheesh, fine. Then what do _you _think we should do?"

"Everything." I said. "Except the kidnaping part. If it comes down to trading then trade them me and run for it-"

"That's out of the question, Art-"

"Shut up and listen, you birdbrain! After you two get away then figure a way to bust me out, otherwise I'll be very pissed at you two and you can both expect an eternal ass kicking for the rest of our afterlives."

Reluctantly they agreed and we set out to start our plan. None of us expected it to work, so when we were all captured no more than forty minutes later it didn't come to us as a real big surprise.


	27. Decisions and Chops

What _did _come as a surprise? It _was _a surprise when I found myself sitting at a tea table with Death, Spirit, Stein, Crona, Richie, and Zephyr sitting all around me, although my two companions and I were in chains. We were about to be executed but according to Death Richie and Zephyr gave him a story about how I had been experimented on by my aunt, Shaula Gorgon, and luckily he partially believed the story. Although, something told me he would have went ahead with our executions anyway if not for Crona insisting to give us a break and check things out to make sure we were all on the level.

"That's why I brought Stein to this conversation."

"Feels more like an interrogation." I said matter-of-factly. "This sucks."

Death continued, as though I hadn't said anything, "He'll be checking to see if there are any irregularities-"

"There is no way I'm letting that guy anywhere near my body!"

"Don't worry," Zephyr chuckled, "she says that all the time."

Richie then face palmed, groaning at his brother's idiocy.

"I think-" Crona started with a noticeable flush coming to her face before she was interrupted.

"That's so immature." Richie muttered.

"Agreed." Shinigami nodded. He then turned to me still acting all bright and cheery. "Don't worry he'll just be examining your brain!"

"Unfortunately." Stein sighed.

"Creeper!" Me and Richie exclaimed at the same time.

"No, that'd be Spirit."

The redhead then spewed tea from his mouth in shock causing both Crona and me to jump. "What?" he exclaimed. He started on some rant I couldn't fully understand, but he was then silenced by a rather brutal reaper chop to the forehead.

"Is he dead?" Zephyr questioned cheerily, poking Spirit's forehead. He then leaned back in his chair and gave a contented smirk. "Ah well, good riddance to stupid rubbish!"

_Reaper chop!_

"Big brother!" Richie exclaimed as Zephyr lay unconscious on the floor with blood leaking from his head, quite similar to how the redhead lay on the opposite side of the table. I groaned. My elbows propped up on the table and I covered my face with my hands. "You idiot." I muttered. Although after seeing both Zephyr and Spirit silenced by the Shinigami's chop I couldn't help but to both respect and fear the attack.

"Anyone else want to get chopped?" Death asked impatiently, holding his ridiculously large styrofoam hand up menacingly.

Richie whimpered shaking his head.

I squeaked, "No."

Crona sweatdropped.

Stein sat passively by while sipping on some tea.

"Oh, that's good!" the Shinigami said cheerily no longer appearing like much of a threat. "Now, maybe we can discuss what happened to you that leads you to believe Shaula is the one at fault for your rampage. Oh, and Miss. Gorgon-"

"Nyx." I quietly corrected. Silently I feared getting chopped but when it didn't happen I gave a relieved exhale. "I changed it, so my surname is Nyx."

"Miss. Nyx," Death started again, "please get your elbows off the table."

"Umm, will he be okay?" I chanced asking with my hands resting in my lap as requested. "I mean, isn't bleeding from the head a bad sign?"

"Does he have a hard head?"

"Yes." Richie sighed.

"Totally." I agreed with unneeded enthusiasm.

"Then your friend will be fine." Death reassured me. "I've used the same attack on Spirit thousands of times and he's always hunky-dory afterwards. Now, back to the question at hand. What do you think Shaula did to make you go on such a violent rampage? Granted nobody important was killed, but that doesn't change the fact you murdered a couple of innocent civilians."

"But Artemis doesn't remember!" Richie protested. "She can't tell you what made her go berserk."

"He didn't ask that." Stein said. "He asked what made her think it was the other witch's fault."

"Because she f***ing kidnaped me and did some really f***ed up stuff to me!"

Crona gave me a sympathetic glance. I hated that. "I-"

Stein interjected, "What sort of things?"

"Excuse you, Professor Screwhead!" I snapped. "Crona was trying to say something!"

I got a glare from the scientist. Luckily, Death didn't chop me for that. He turned to Crona and gave her a pat to the head. She blushed and appeared rather sheepish and uncertain. It made me sick how fatherly he was behaving towards her. _What a creepy pedo. _I thought in disgust, rolling my eyes at this display.

"You were saying?" he encouraged.

"Umm, just that, I think I know what Artemis felt like when she realized something was wrong."

"Oh? And how was that?"

"Angry." She said sadly. "And sad, scared, maybe even lost. Being made into something you don't want to be can actually hurt you a lot, especially when someone else benefits from your pain."

Her words were true, at least some of them were and I felt everyone's eyes boring into me, except Crona's, as an answer of some sort was expected from me. Crona was staring down at the table. Unknowingly she pissed me off. She was right. She was right about me being angry and sad, even about the lost part. I had finished my life's mission and had nothing else to do, nothing to show for it. Or at least I didn't think I did. But those weren't the reasons why I felt angry. It would have bothered me if she didn't. I actually felt angry because Crona _did _understand. Crona knew the feelings I experienced. She got it better than any of the other worthless bastards in that room ever could.

And then I realized...

I moved swiftly, chains rattled, and I soon found myself standing on the table in front of where Crona had been sitting, only she no longer sat because I had yanked her up by the collar of her robe and was holding her in the air as though she were weightless. She _did _seem weightless.

She hadn't been cared for, hadn't been fed right. She'd probably been treated like trash her entire life and settled for all these losers because she supposed she couldn't do better. And it was my fault. It was my entire fault. Her suffering...her lame friends...her being at this place...it was all my entire fault because of how weak I'd been all those years ago.

I knew this to be true, I knew it without a doubt in my mind, as well as I knew that Medusa had been the main bitch to screw around with her body, ruining it, experimenting on it, and doing who the hell knew what else just to get what she wanted.

My little sister...it was my fault...I was weak...all these thoughts swirled around in my brain, causing me to grind my teeth out of rage.

Her eyes were wide, scared. This only angered me further. What was it that she saw? I found out sooner than I'd liked to have. Reflecting in her eyes was my face, twisted into an ugly expression of hateful malice. My yellow hues were glowing eerily in the light of the room appearing quite viper-like. I then felt somewhat cold. Numb, as though I were far off from possessing a physical being and were merely a soul drifting about the room.

I then found myself in total darkness, as I spaced out of reality.

_I was younger, maybe just a toddler, yet I stood watching a door to a room of darkness close quietly. Baby wails were heard beyond the door, which slammed with cold finality. I gasped._

There was no way I was seeing things right, and yet a woman in black stood off beside me, back to me. Subconsciously, somewhere deep inside my brain, I knew who it was but I didn't want to admit it. I wanted them to stay dead.

_She then turned around. Staring down at me coldly without any compassion in her eyes, just a chilling emptiness and vague sense of boredom. Medusa scowled at me. My mother. "You'll not listen to those cries, nor care for the one making them." I nodded, not uttering a word. My compliance was instant._

This flash of memory evaporated and I found myself trembling. Realization hit me and I shivered because of the sudden drop in temperature. I knew...I saw...my mother's eyes...were my own. I had the same eyes she did with the same cold, careless feelings lighting them up.

My body felt stiff.

I still held Crona, threatening her life with a hand at her throat; however, my life was also being threatened at the same instant. Stein held a hand at the side of my head firmly, an arm was wrapped around my neck. Death was glaring at me through the mask, hand touching my shoulder firmly. "Let her go." he ordered. I realized that Stein was going to break my neck if I didn't do as commanded but my body wouldn't comply with my brain, which told it to let Crona go, apologize, and sit down before things worsened.

Why did I suddenly feel so dizzy? The room tilted a bit. I swallowed uneasily, my grip on Crona's throat increased causing her to give a squeak of pain as her breathing became very shallow. Still, her voice managed to be heard, "D-don't..."

Don't...what? Don't hurt her? Don't _kill _her? I didn't want to hurt her. I _really _didn't want to, but I didn't seem to have a choice. I felt further and further away. It gave me a dreadful sense of dejavu. The scent of blood was suddenly wafted to me. My head hurt and my rage just seemed to increase as I became angry with myself for doing as I was to Crona. I never didn't want to hurt her, but something made me-

_"Let's play."_

That voice!

_"Do you want to play again?"_

It was that damned voice. Inside my head. Driving me crazy, and furthering my anger.

"This is your last chance." I heard Death warn.

My jaw started to ache. My teeth should have shattered from how tightly I had them clenched together. Vaguely, I knew what was happening. Something told me to obey, but there was no fear behind that common sense. So what if Stein snapped my neck? It should have frightened me, but it did not affect me in the slightest. Someone might as well have said they were going to walk by me. It felt the same. There was no fear, no need to be bothered. All that I felt was negativity and anger. That was something I knew without a doubt even as I got that...light feeling...

It was the feeling where I felt outside my body, acting as an observer, even though I was in it making it move. Or was I? I didn't know. What I did know for certain then was that my life was most likely about to end.

"Stein."

There was pressure at the back of my neck. I gasped quietly and prepared to take my last breath.

"Don't...h-hurt her...p-please..."

My eyes widened.

I pulled my head up and found my eyes locked with Crona's dark ones. She didn't look as scared as before, but she didn't seem exceptionally brave either. She grabbed hold of my wrist firmly and with surprising strength squeezed it hard enough that I lost the feeling in my hand and was forced to let her go. She fell down knocking over the chair she'd been sitting in previously but unintentionally drug me down on top of her when she failed to let go of my wrist after I released her. And just as quickly as that most of my anger drained away and was forgotten as I found myself lying on top of Crona who was gasping for air and seeming as embarrassed as me about the position we were in.

My head wasn't so dizzy as reality slammed into my face and I found myself trying to scramble away from her. She was persistent to not let that happen, and wrapped her arms around my neck timidly in what I knew was supposed to be a comforting hug. It just made things more embarrassing, then again it also made things sad because I knew that I had missed things like this during our ten year separation.

I was supposed to be scared. I knew I could have went berserk then and I most likely would have...if I hadn't started crying...

It wasn't intentional. I'd never cry in front of other people if I could help it. I had an image to uphold, yet I found myself crying and sobbing. I felt so bad...so awful...and I felt even worse knowing all eyes were on me. How I hated this place...how I hated the Shinigami...those men...myself...just about everything...

"I was weak," I whispered to Crona who seemed uneasy, yet unsurprised at my words, "just a little child being brainwashed and used. I was too afraid to say anything, but I obeyed without question. Like a mindless dog. I'm sorry. I am so sorry."

"It's okay."

"No," I croaked. "No, it isn't. I can't-"

"It's okay. Everything is okay."

"How can you say that?"

"I have been taught," she said quietly, smiling calmly, "by several people here that many people are worth a second chance as long as good is still in them, and as far as I am concerned that includes you."

"You're stupid." I muttered bitterly, sadness edging my voice. "You're so stupid if you think that."

She didn't respond. Letting go and staring off to the side with troubled eyes and a rosy colored face Crona shrugged. I didn't know if she really thought she were stupid or what but she didn't say much of anything else for the rest of the meeting.

It was eventually decided with more than a little argument that I'd stay in Death City as long as I kept out of trouble and lived with Crona. The last condition was more of a precaution than anything else. Both Zephyr and Richie wanted to stay but they weren't allowed, at least Zephyr wasn't. That was cool with me. It seemed pretty cool of Death to allow Richie to stick around as long as I kept an eye on him. That was easy to agree to although my fingers were crossed behind my back as I made the promise.


	28. Apologies, Conflicts, & Unspoken Plots!

**A few hours later...**

"So, you know, I'm sorry for whatever."

"Artemis."

"What?"

Crona fixed me with a firm stare.

"Okay, okay." I sighed. I then turned back to Maka who was laid up in what was practically a full body cast. "I am deeply sorry for lying to and hurting you as I did. I should have gotten the facts straight, blah, blah, blah, blah, so on and so forth. I was wrong and bad, you were right and good. So, are we cool?"

There was a muffled shout from the meister. Most of her face was covered, save for her nose, eyes, and hair. Judging from the glare she gave me I doubted we were 'cool' as I had stated. Crona didn't seem to catch the glare as she stared at me seeming somewhat uncertain about whether or not I was being sincere or just acting. "I'll take that as a yes." I said giving Maka a friendly smile. I then looked to Crona who sat in a chair by Maka appearing a bit forlorn. I then gave a fake yawn. "Well, it's getting late so I guess we should be getting home now, huh?"

"I guess."

"Mmff! Mmmff!"

"What's that, Maka?"

"I think she's just wishing you a good night. Right, Maka?" I said with a catty grin. I knew she was more or less probably trying to tell Crona something that I was sure she didn't need to hear so playing the role of translator I assured Crona that her friend would be fine and it was okay for us to leave. This deceit caused Maka's green eyes to narrow and she became more persistant in trying to communicate her message, "Mmmfft! Stomm! Mfft! Hummff! Mmm!"

"Bye, Maka." Crona said with a weak smile. "I'll see you and the others tomorrow, okay?"

"Mmmff!"

"Yeah, bye!" I said, and then knocked a fist into her arm a little harder than was necessary causing her to cry out in pain. Lucky for me Nygus had shown up and had Crona too busy with something to notice what I had done. I then leaned down towards Maka's face with a scowl deciding that while I had the chance I should set the record straight with the ash blond scythe meister. "I'll be up front with you, okay? I don't like you. In fact, you make me freakin sick to my stomach and so do all your freakshow friends, but I'm willing to play with you nicely for Crona's sake. So either you make things easy on yourself and play along with me, or you can go and burn in f***in hell because-trust me-I can make your life unbearable. It's your choice. And from your injuries I'd think you'd have some time to think about it. I'll just take care of Crona for you."

Of course I gave an evil smirk then. What? C'mon who wouldn't?! I certainly did. And I even pat Maka's head like she were some puppy, which earned me yet another glare, of course, not that I cared.

"Artemis?" Nygus called over to me in a firm tone. "It's time for you to go."

"Yeah," I heard Crona agree, "we can see Maka tomorrow."

"Duahh eeeve!" Maka shouted from behind her thick layer of bandages. "Mfft! Corruh! Mff!"

Crona gave a giggle and waved a final 'good-bye' to the blonde. "C'mon," she said gently, "I don't think we should bother her anymore. She needs her rest to get all better."

"They all do." I heard Nygus sigh.

"Right! Coming!" I called to her, then turned back to Maka and keeping up my friendly act chirped, "See ya."

* * *

"So," I said with a bit of awkward apprehension, "I-I want to, umm, you know." I looked to my sister with a bit of annoyance and frustration. It was hard for me to speak my feelings. Crona stared at me from her place in Mr. Corner, seeming to be awfully confused about what I was struggling to say. I sighed and tried to figure out what to say.

"I-I just want to thank you."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"You're welcome."

"Don't mention it?"

"Yeah..."

A silence ensued then. It sucked, to say the least. I wanted to tell her so many things but was too unsure of myself. There was no fear. I was just really uncertain if Crona would understand me. Growing up talking about feelings wasn't a big thing, and knowing our dearest mother-gag me-I supposed Crona wasn't big on sentimental talk either. Sighing I opened my mouth to speak but was actually beaten by Crona. "I thought you were dead." She said. Her words were blunt and quiet.

"I thought you were, too." I admitted. "Or brainwashed, or something like that."

"I just woke up one morning and you were gone." She explained. "Lady Medusa said that I had imagined you. That you weren't real. I guessed that she had killed you and relocated us somewhere else. So that I'd forget."

"Did you?"

"Yeah. For a while. Then I met Maka and she helped clear my mind of all the hell that'd filled it. And I started to have dreams, which Professor Stein told me were suppressed memories from when I was younger. I didn't tell anybody it was about my sister, mostly because I assumed..."

"I get it." I mumbled. There was a short silence then I looked up to Crona and our eyes met. I then asked something that had been bugging me. "Are you really happy here?"

"What do you mean?"

"Do you really like it here?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Why?"

"Yeah, why do you like it so much? Aside from the friends thing."

"Well, nobody hurts me here. When I was with Lady Medusa she hurt me all the time, but here I can actually trust people to protect me, to not hurt me."

"You feel safe?"

She nodded. "And I learn new things almost all the time. I can go places if I want to without worrying about getting punished and I don't have to leave here if I don't want to. I have my own place. I'm not alone like before. Sometimes I actually get too much attention."

"Sounds sweet." I said. I didn't mean it, but I was really glad she was happy. "So, how much longer do you want to stick around?"

"Huh?"

"When do you want to leave?"

That was when it became evident I had asked the wrong question. A tense silence came between us and Crona looked like she really didn't want to be there then. Her voice lowered so much that I could barely hear her reply, "I-I don't want to leave."

"Seriously?"

She nodded.

"So, you're telling me you seriously want to hang around this place even though all these goody-goodies don't know squat about you?"

"They know me." She argued weakly. "And they like me for being who I am even when I don't like myself."

"What makes you so sure?" I questioned. She didn't have an answer right away. It seemed she needed to think on that. She just clutched her arm and stared at the floor. She was stubborn, I would give her that, but at the same time it was like she just thought these things without truly knowing why she thought or felt them. After a minute of silence she finally replied, "Because I trust them."

I scoffed at that. "You can't trust anyone nowadays." I told her, just because of how gullible she seemed and because I needed to keep what conversation we had going. "I trusted a bitch aunt of ours and look what she did to me!" It might have been a bit dramatic, especially since I waved my arms and pointed to my face like it were horribly disfigured when it was the same as it always had been, but I didn't care and foolishly put myself out there like some prissy drama queen. Crona looked at my face in silence for a moment before responding to what I had said.

"Y-you look fine." She said. "Y-you're st-still really pretty."

"I-" There was a pause and I gave Crona a look of surprise when I realized just what she had said. "You think I'm pretty?"

"I-I guess so." Crona mumbled in reply, still vaguely flushed. "You're not exactly ugly, Artemis."

"I know that! It's just...nobody has ever said I was pretty before...well, nobody I like I mean."

"Y-you like me?!" She shrieked like it were some dark sin.

"No, Crona," I spat sarcastically, rolling my eyes at her shock, "I just worried myself sick, risked my life, and about killed all your friends because I hate you. Of course I like you, you twit! Why else would I put myself through all this hell?!"

Shouting at her wasn't the best plan, especially when it made her stumble back and cower like I'd just beaten her or something. "I-I'm s-sorry!" Crona sputtered, as she looked at me fearfully. "I-I didn't me-mean t-to make y-you angry!"

"You didn't...I mean, I'm not...grr...could you please stop being so afraid of me!"

"B-but y-you're s-so sc-scary!"

"I'm what?!" I screeched, feeling as though she'd just slapped me across the face. How the hell was I suddenly scary? She was comfortable with me a few minutes ago! Then again, I had no idea how badly she responded to people yelling at her, which was why I kept on with my yelling. "What happened to the whole 'you're pretty' compliment, huh?! Do you just hate my guts now like everyone else in this damn city?!"

"N-no! I-I just...s-sorry...p-please stop...please stop screaming at me!"

"I'll scream if I want to!" I snapped at her, stomping my foot once like some spoiled brat who hadn't gotten her way, as if to prove my point I then opened my mouth, tilted my head back, and let out the loudest, longest scream I could muster. It caused Crona to cower in a corner, rocking back and forth with her hands covering her ears as she whimpered and mumbled about how she, 'just couldn't deal with this' and that sight, of course, made me feel guilty because I'd just freaked my little sister out, which wasn't a good start to any relationship, but then again we were Gorgons and Gorgons weren't exactly known for sisterly love. All the proof I needed for that was a quick look at my mother and our eldest aunt. They freaking hated each other!

Sighing I knew I didn't want my and Crona's relationship to be like that. If I ever...willingly...voluntarily...just ever decide to have kids someday in the next decade or two...maybe four or five decades from the present, considering witches live longer than normal humans I may not decide to have a child until a hundred or so years into the future. When I thought on it I had another couple years to physically age then I'd stop for a while. Shaking this thought away I got back to my point, which was if I ever had kids then I'd like them to get to know Crona and see that sisters could get along in spite of their differences. And my sister and me had a ton of differences. The biggest difference being we were supposed to be enemies what with her being a DWMA meister and me a badass witch...yeah...we weren't supposed to mix.

"No, no," I said with as much niceness as I could muster, "there's no need to be sorry! It's my fault, really! There won't be anymore screaming from me. From here on out I'll be quiet as a mouse!"

"Really?"

"Totally."

**Exactly 5 Seconds Later**

"HOW THE HELL DID YOU GET IN HERE YOU JACKASS?!"

Crona was hiding in her corner and I was glaring at Zephyr who sat laughing on the edge of her bed, apparently having transformed himself to sneak in here through the bars of the window. I huffed and stared back at Crona who had her hands tugging at her hair while she mumbled to herself about how all witches lied, which was fair enough seeing as my promise hadn't lasted over a couple seconds time. I was so pissed at Zephyr. He was such an idiot. He had his soul protect on now, but he was smiling a rather dark, knowing smile as I tried to comfort Crona.

"_You're such a gorgeous nightmare_!" He started to sing softly, though none too quietly. "_Oh damn it never seem to go away_! _You make me feel brand new yeah_! _We resurrect it's like I've come back to life_!"

"Will you shut it?!" I snapped, turning away from Crona to go stand a foot in front of him, eye twitching as I then felt like tearing Zephyr's head off. "You've already screwed enough things up today, you stupid son of a freak!"

"_I feel so alive, I feel so alive_!"

"I'll show you alive if you don't shut the hell up!"

"_First impressions are hard to erase_. _It's in my mind and it just won't go away_. _Maybe I'm playing my cards way too safe_. _I've gotta change, change, change, change_!"

I was practically trembling in rage by now, speaking through gritted teeth, as I continued to glare at him because he wouldn't stop with his damn singing and just get his ass out of there. "Yeah," I spat, "change form and get the hell out of here!"

"_Is it the way that you feel against my body_? _Is it the way that you act so damn naughty_? _Is it the way that you shake_? _When your hips go through the bass, the bass, the bass, the bass_!"

"Ugh! I swear you're such a sick freak, Zephyr!"

"_I feel so alive_! _You're such a gorgeous nightmare_!"

"I'm gonna kill you if you keep it up!"

"I can't deal with this. I can't deal with crazy boys!" Crona whimpered, still hiding in her awful looking corner. Cringing and attempting to sink further into it she grabbed her hair. "I can barely deal my friends!"

"Crazy, eh?" Zephyr muttered, standing then shoving me out of the way to go stand over Crona who hugged her knees to her chest looking to be on the verge of tears. "That's rude! You barely know me! Or do you and Artie share the same mother?"

"Get the hell away from her you asshole! You're scaring her!"

"That doens't answer my question."

"Because it's stupid!"

"You mean like you?"

"Okay, that's the last straw! I am so going to f***ing to kill you if you don't leave my sister alone and f*** off!"

"Temper!" He laughed, giving me a broad smile. It was then he grabbed Crona and hauled her to her feet making her give a yelp of fear and start squirming like mad in an attempt to free herself from his hold. "Besides, your sister is so cute and feels so soft and sweet an-" That was when a small, white gloved fist slammed into the side of his face sending him flying across the room where he hit into the wall and landed on the bed, rolling off and landing on the floor with a soft, pained grunt.

"Screw off you pervert!" The weapon of my sister snapped, sitting atop her head and glaring at Zephyr. He then turned to stare down at Crona who gave a sigh of relief at being released, a hand clutching onto her arm and body seeming to relax slightly. "Hey, do you know that guy?"

"No. I-I never met him b-before. He b-broke in h-here...somehow."

"Eh," Ragnarok said pointing towards him then at noticing something that gets Crona to follow his gaze, "he's got a witch's soul!"

"Oh. Yeah he does, doesn't he?"

"You can see it f***ing there can't you? So...can we eat his soul?"

"Yeah," Crona mumbled allowing Ragnarok to sink back into her body before he became a sword in her hand, "I guess so. I mean, Lord Death said those are the souls that are okay to eat."

"Let's get 'em, Crona!"

She nodded, taking a step forwards while Zephyr glared at her and climbed to his feet. "You wanna fight, huh?" Zephyr laughed, smiling darkly and allowing some dark magic to spark at his fingertips. I knew this wasn't going to end well if I allowed them to keep this up so I moved to where I stood between them, spreading my arms out acting as a barrier between Crona and Zephyr who were looking more than ready to literally tear each other apart.

"Chill! I know he's an obnoxious douche, but...well...uh...you just can't kill him, all right?"

"I'm sorry, Artemis, but I have to take his soul. He's an evil pervert!"

"No arguements there; however, listen to me, he is the brother of a friend of mine and his brother isn't that bad of a guy so I can't let you kill Zephyr otherwise his brother will be an orphan."

"Sometimes it's better to be an orphan."

"Okay, point taken, but if you kill him then you'll have to kill me too."

"Do it, Crona, it's a two for one deal!"

"But I-I don't w-want to kill Artemis, but I-I can't not kill him, but Artemis...uh...oh...I CAN'T DEAL WITH THIS!" She screeched with a hand tugging at her hair and eyes wide, going between me and Zephyr. The next thing I knew she was huddled back in her corner, sobbing with Ragnarok no longer in sword form, but instead chastising her for freaking out and failing to kill Zephyr when she had the chance.

"Hmm, isn't she just hopeless?" I heard Zephyr say and gave him a look of warning at hearing him. "What? Look at her! I swear you wasted ten years of your life searching for this sad train wreck. She can't even fight and lets her freaking weapon of all things push her around."

"Zephyr-"

"The hell did you say?!" Ragnarok shouted glaring back at us. "Come over here and we'll cut your sorry ass into a million pieces!"

"I'd like to see you try."

"Would you shut up!"

"I don't know would _you_? It's sad that you're scared of such a little thing! Seriously, this is the smallest, most unimpressive weapon I have ever seen in my entire li-" He was cut off when he was sent sailing from the room, through the door that broke down at how hard Zephyr's body struck against it. I knew he must have broken some bones, but stood frozen as Ragnarok glared at me from where he sat perched up on top of Crona's head.

"You have anything you'd like to say, bitch?" he demanded huffily, apparently ready to pop me a good one if I say anything insulting, which I had never intended to do anyway.

"Uh...yeah...actually, you don't look like you have changed much since I saw you last."

"Actually, A-Artemis, Ragnarok _has _changed a lot."

"Yeah! I use to be all huge and even more badass than usual, but then her retarded friend, Maka, purified Crona and the damn Shinigami confiscated all the souls I ate!"

"And he shrunk down, but Lord Death said he might get that big again if I manage to make him into a death scythe."

"Sounds cool." I said with a smile, heading over to the door and allowing my magic to flow. "Anyway, let's fix that door and we'll have a chance to rest afterward. I mean, after how you clobbered Zephyr I doubt he'll bother us anytime soon."

"Hey, Crona, know what?" Ragnarok whispered.

"What?" Crona whispered back, genuinely curious as to what her partner had to say. It seemed like he'd just made an important observation. She got a smirk in return for her curiosity and a whispered, "Your dumb sister got totally hot!"

"Ragnarok!" She quietly whined.

"What?! You know she is!"

"Stop being a pervert!"

"I will when you stop being a dyke!"

"I am not!"

"Oh really?" Ragnarok sneered then went on to mock the pink-haired girl who gave a squeak when he made his voice all trembly and high-pitched to perform an impression of his flushed meister. "Look at me I'm Crona and get turned on by staring at my girlfriend's flat chest!"

"Th-that isn't me! An-and I don't st-stare at M-Maka's chest!" Crona sputtered out with her face having became a bright red. He cackled at her response, giving her a noogie while she squealed and fussed, complaining about how he was hurting her. Laughing loudly he eventually stopped after Crona fell to her knees and just sat biting her lip fearing that he'd make it worse if she kept complaining. Her weapon then pinched her nose and declared her to be 'such a wuss'. "It's not my fault you're too rough with me! I can deal with it, but pain still hurts!"

"No freaking duh, Crona! Why else would it be called pain?!"

"I don't know!"

"Would you lay off her already?!" I finally snapped at him after repairing the door completely, having only heard part of their conversation. "Geez, have you not matured at all?"

"I don't know are you still a lame ass?!" He shot back. "Mind your own busy, witchy! I mess with Crona all the time and she doesn't mind! She can deal with it, right Crona?"

"R-right." Crona mumbled.

"See?" He snapped, wrapping his arms around her head in a way that made it seem as though he were hugging her head. "She's my meister and loves it!"

"I'm so sure." I scoffed. My arms folded in front of my chest, as I then took in the two. Crona was staring at the floor and still blushing while Ragnarok kept his hold on her head, practically glaring at me. "Who the hell likes being belittled and beat on everyday of their life?"

"Why not ask your sister! She takes it and hardly whines about it too much anymore. I mean, maybe every now and again, but not too much!"

"Then you should quit bugging her, you pest!"

"If anyone should leave her alone it's you, you f***ing creeper! You probably plan on experimenting on us or put us through some weird hell like that bitch mother of yours!"

"That's bull and you know it! I'm the only one here who really cares about her! You just bully her all the damn time!"

"You have no idea what you're talking about, cow!"

"I do so, creep!"

"Bitch!"

"Fathead!"

"Whore!"

"Pervy blob!"

"And you're a homewrecking witch!"

"At least I'm not some parasite that harms and bums off an innocent girl!"

"I'll kill you!" He screeched.

"You can't touch this!" I laughed mockingly. "Especially since you're such a little, teeny-tiny, itsy-bitsy nothing!"

Ragnarok looked ready to explode. It made me feel so proud to be putting down one of my childhood bullies, Crona's included. He seemed to actually be at a loss for words or maybe he was restraining himself so that his meister didn't flip out. Whatever the reason he looked ready to tear me to bits.

"In his defense," Crona spoke up then, actually spoke up and was siding with her weapon to my astonishment, "he doesn't mean anything bad when he messes with me. I-it's just...teasing, Artemis, it's not that bad...when you're used to it, anyway."

"Don't defend him!"

"Shut it bitch! Crona's _my _partner! She's on _my _side!"

"Well she is _my _sister! We're related by blood!"

"So what? I _live _in her blood!"

"Crona," I stared at her intently with my fists resting on my hips, "who do you care about more?"

"Yeah." Ragnarok sneered, tugging on her hair so she was staring up at him with his narrowed eyes. "Who's had your back since you can remember and been with you for just about your entire pitiful life?"

"Umm..."

"Tell him," I prodded, glaring at the black blob on her head. "Tell him who came to rescue you and wouldn't dream of hurting you."

"Yeah? Well, Crona, then tell her who is physically closer to you than anyone else in the entire universe!"

"Who came from the same womb as you?!"

"Who-" he paused then shook his head making a small sound of disgust, "Really? We're gonna get weird?"

"Who's gonna put tacks in your shoes if you answer this question wrong?!"

"I...uh...umm...I c-can't..." Crona looked between us with wide eyes, seeming uncertain of who to choose. "I-I...uh..." I noticed she avoided looking directly at us and was most likely mulling over her options. Too bad the two us didn't lay off her...

"Crona?" I prodded forcefully. "Who is it?!"

"Yeah!" Ragnarok cackled. "Which of us is it?!"

"Um...uh...oh...I-I ch-choose..."

"Crona!" We both shouted at her in unison.

"Ragnarok!"

"Yes!" he shouted victoriously, hugging his meister's head so hard that she gave a small whimper, grinning a bit though she flinched slightly when he slammed one of his small fists to her head. "I knew it! See, witch?! She cares about me the most! I win, you suck, go on and get f***ed!"

"Dammit!" I gave a frustrated growl, kicking the nearby wall and ending up with a sore foot. Hissing in pain I swore some more and ended up sitting on the bed glaring at Ragnarok as he continued to gloat. I huffed and silently planned a way to destroy that little bastard without harming Crona in the process. Sadly, the idea seemed impossible with them being fused together and everything. It didn't take too long before Crona's quiet voice piped up once Ragnarok had vanished from sight.

"Artemis? A-are you mad at me?"

"No, why you ask that?"

"Because I picked Ragnarok..."

"That's okay. I know you just said that because he was pressuring you. You like me best, right?"

"Umm...well..." she mumbled, twiddling her fingers together nervously, "I-I don't really...know you...s-sorry..."

"Yeah," I sighed in agreement, "we'll have to fix that. Tomorrow will just be a you and me day, right?"

Crona gave me a smile and nod, tucking herself into her corner and looking at me with such a sweet look of trust that if it were anyone else I'd have probably crushed them already, but this was my little sister and I wouldn't purposely hurt her. So tomorrow was a day I looked forward to in spite of all the hell I went through to get to this point I felt that it had been worth it. All that was left was convincing her to leave. Let's face it, I hate most meisters and to be surrounded by these goody-goody friends of Crona's made me want to vomit. So, that night I started my plot-uh, no planning, yes that's the word. Planning. I began planning how to convince Crona to leave the city with me. Boy, that was one night I certainly didn't get any rest.

* * *

**Aww! I couldn't resist adding that song in there! It took longer than I'd have liked but here ya all go! One fantastically long chapter to make up for the wait! If you will plz review to let me know what ya think of it. I'm thinking that maybe they'll go to the bazarr or Death Bucks next chapter. I'm not too certain.**

**Guess we'll find out next chapter, right? ;)**


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